The Infinity League
by Shaydrall
Summary: Five years past, a crushing defeat made Ash vanish from the world of Pokemon. Now, at the advent of the I-R Pokemon Tournament he returns, a new person. The Hunters have a new leader, people with god-like powers are appearing, and there are even whispers of a civil war. An epic story filled with so much conflict that there is really only one absolute truth. Nothing is as it seems.
1. What They All Shared

**Well now, hello and welcome to my Pokemon fic, The Infinity League. This Pokemon (which I don't own, disclaimer etc) fic is largely Ash-centric with some forays into fairly unexplored parts of the canon that I just go AU with wildly, drawing my own connections and such like any fanfic author enjoys to do. You should know that this follows the canon up until about where Ash gets his 8th badge in Sinnoh. After that I think I've only taken from a couple episodes as fact as well. It assumes him to be mid 15 years old by the time he is finishing said region as well. Other than that everything you see here is AU. As I say in all my other fics, just take things as they come and have fun. I think I've got something quality here, but I'll let you read and decide that for yourself. I do hope you enjoy this as much as I have been writing it.**

**Two notes for you. The fic is a bit of a slow start for the plot, but I promise you that it picks up well. Secondly, nothing is as it seems. Nothing.**

XxxxX

Clouds covered the sky. A lone girl lay back on the gentle slope of a large grassy hill; her left hand rested at her side and her right on her chest. The girl ran her finger over the smooth stone on her necklace slowly as if in a trance. The stretch of fluffy white in every direction was reflected in eyes that were seemingly staring a million miles away.

'…_where are you…'_

The sound of footsteps in the grass brought the girl back to reality. She listened to them getting louder and closer. It was obvious that the person was walking directly at her, but the girl remained where she was. It was not as if she was in any danger to begin with. One of her Pokemon was out of its pokeball and was keeping watch for her just in case anything came up. The fact that the person wasn't being stopped could only mean that it was someone she knew. In any case, there was only one person she knew who could possibly find her here...

"I've finally found you, girl," said the approaching man. He stopped about a foot behind her head but otherwise the girl remained completely ignorant to his presence. She could tell from the tone of his voice that he was slightly out of breath from walking but in no way upset. She couldn't truthfully say that she had ever seen this man _not_ in a good mood, despite the current situation.

Looking up at the man's face she said, "And what could the owner and manager of the prestigious Battle Frontier, as well as one of the most important organization officials of Pokemon tournaments and all that good stuff, want with simple me?"

"And all that good stuff..."

Putting an exasperated hand to his forehead Scott gave a hearty chuckle saying, "Every time I see you, you sound more and more like Ash, you know that? Out of all the people you could have rub off on you, you've picked one of the worst." Walking around to her side he held out a hand which the girl took, standing up.

"I knew I would end up running into you at some point, Scott," the girl said, bowing her head slightly in greeting. She brushed off the grass clinging to her then said, "He sent you, didn't he? Sometime I honestly wonder why I still hang around him, he's so irresponsible." She paused then giggled, "I'm just kidding. Anyway, how did you end up finding me? I thought I had finally found a place that nobody on the island even knew about. At least I've never seen anyone out this way before."

"Well Ash did say that if I had no idea where you were to look in a place like this," he explained. "Though it was a lot easier with your friend here." Scott simply pointed down at his feet and looking down she saw her Glaceon sitting there quietly. '_So that's where you went off to…_' the girl thought. Scott continued to talk as the girl picked up her Glaceon, petting the back of her neck. "You're right about that. He asked me to find you and look after you for a little while until he was able to join us."

"Does that mean he's on the island? Now?" asked the girl anxiously. Scott nodded. "Well then let's go find him!" she said, already starting to walk back to the city.

"Wait up a sec!" Scott called out. Catching up to her, he said, "Follow me. Unlike you I don't have limitless energy so I have a jeep I borrowed from the PTO parked nearby. Let's take that shall we?" Nodding, the girl followed Scott to his vehicle shooting him with questions about random things that he did for his many jobs. Scott wasn't fooled by her sudden lack of interest in Ash's whereabouts, but he didn't want to push her to talk about it. He knew she would bring it back up when she wanted to.

It was only after a minute of silent driving down the windy road that led to the outskirts of the city that she said coolly, "So the fact that he didn't come with you now means he had something _immensely_ important to take care of before seeing me for the first time in over a month." Scott smiled to himself. She was so worked up over nothing in such a way that only a young woman could be. His worries that it might be something serious dispelled, he said cheerfully,

"He's just registering for the tournament. Though the deadline was officially almost a week ago, I called in early for him because he told me there was no way for him to get there in time due to work. I called the officials and had them make an exception for him. They gave him an extra week past the official deadline to show up and he did earlier today." Scott glanced at the girl to see her giving him a puzzling look. "What?" he said defensively.

"I was just curious…" the girl responded slowly as if she was constructing her statement carefully. "Why do you go so far for him, and me for that matter? I'm just saying, well, considering who you are and who he is it just doesn't make much sense that you help him out so much." She finished and fixed Scott with a beady stare determined for an answer. Scott however, laughed, surprising the girl.

"Is that it?" he said amused. "Well let's just say I owe Ash more than I can ever pay back in the way of favors. He's helped me out more times than I can count, going all the way back to the first day I met him practically. In any case, he knows what my position is like and he rarely asks me for anything so I try to help him out whenever I can." Scott brought the jeep to a stop. They had arrived at spot that overlooked the city.

"I stop at this place every day, you know?" said the girl. The view was spectacular. From where they were standing they could see the entire scope of the island's main city, Element City. It was the largest city she had ever been in her entire life. At least a thousand times the size of her own home village to be sure. Sunlight suddenly broke through the cloud cover, spilling down onto the city in various places. At the center of the city were a great number of enormous stadiums that all together were large enough to be their own city. The stadiums drew both watchers' eyes as the sunlight framed them against the rest of the view.

The sound of clicking brought the girl back to reality. Turning she saw Scott taking pictures of the scene. Laughing, she said, "Taking pictures just like a tourist, you know you totally just killed the mood."

Turning, Scott quickly snapped a shot before saying, "It's true, I am a tourist at heart." They got back in the jeep. Turning it on Scott continued, "It's more fun that way though, don't you think?"

The girl looked at Scott and smiled saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right. So where are we going? Now that I think about it I never asked you."

"Well, there are a lot of people that Ash wants you to meet. They are all good friends and are going to have a reunion at one of the Pokemon Centers on the edge of town. We are heading there now. Shouldn't be more than another thirty minutes or so till we get there." Scott took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air of the mountainside. "Don't worry," he added suddenly, "he's going to come to us so there's no doubt that you'll meet up later today. Today is going to be a great day. Trust me when I say that."

The girl smiled at Scott's words then said, "Well if that's the case then can we make a quick stop at my apartment? I'd like to change into something without grass stains."

Scott laughed loudly saying, "God, why didn't I think of that? Point the way, my girl, point the way." And they zoomed off into the city.

* * *

- **Five years earlier at the Sinnoh League Championship Conference** -

* * *

"Dammit!"

Ash slammed his fist onto the table causing the salt and pepper shakers to fall over. "Dammit, how can this be happening?" He raised his fist again but a hand grabbed his wrist in the air.

"Ash! Calm down! I know you're upset but... you're scaring everyone." Brock's words brought Ash back from his anger. Looking around he saw that Dawn and her Piplup were semi-hiding behind Dawn's mother, Johanna. She had been with them since the start of the competition. Originally, Johanna had surprised them when they happened to bump into her in a Pokemon Center near where the competition was to take place. They later found out, however, that the meeting was not so coincidental because Johanna had planned a half year trip to the Hoenn Region for herself and her daughter. Johanna's Pokemon Contest contacts ran deep in that region as well and her daughter, as a budding coordinator, would benefit immensely from the exposure. After all, nothing could replace pure first hand experience. Still, Dawn had convinced her mother to wait until after the competition so that she could support Ash. They had traveled together for so long that now the only person that she had ever been in the company of longer than Ash and Brock was her own mother. Looking at Dawn's distressed face, Ash felt all the fight go out of him.

Eyes locked on his feet Ash said, "I'm sorry... Dawn... everyone." Taking a deep breath he raised his head and faced them. "You postponed your trip to support me and all I can think about is myself." Ash got up and walked to the door. "Sorry guys but I really need some air," he said, opening the door. "And... thanks for cheering for me."

The door shut quietly behind him. The room collectively relaxed with Ash's departure.

"So..." began Johanna, "will he be alright, Brock?"

Brock sat down in Ash's now vacant seat and faced the others. "To be honest I really don't know," he said with a frown. "I've known Ash almost since the day he first got Pikachu and he's never experienced anything like this before. If I had to choose a side, I'd say that Ash will recover from this after some time." He looked down into his hands. "Though, as to how long that is, I have no idea. It's not that he's a stranger to losing but he's never had so much riding on him before."

Dawn hugged her Piplup tightly against her chest. "I'm sure he'll be alright after a while. Ash is a strong person. He's always pulled through the rough times we've been through before," she said, though with a noticeable forced enthusiasm. Piplup voiced his own agreement through her arms.

"Well I certainly hope so," said her mother. She turned to her daughter. "Sweetie, I don't mean to cut things short for you but now that Ash isn't competing we really should be going." Dawn looked at her in alarm.

"But Mom, what about Ash, we can't just leave him!"

"I'm not suggesting anything of the sort, Dawn," she said patiently. "But we can actually still make our original travel plans work out now that we aren't going to be staying here until the finals. We need to leave tonight though." Dawn frowned but said nothing. She knew her mom wouldn't suggest this if it weren't important. Considering the length of their trip she had really put a lot of effort into the planning. She didn't want to cause problems. After all, it was all for her to begin with. Nodding at her daughter's acceptance, Johanna turned to Brock and held out her hand. "Brock, thank you so much for looking after my daughter. I'm really happy that she had you and Ash with her as traveling companions. She's grown a lot from it as a person," she grinned a bit, "and as a young lady as well I think."

"Mom!" said Dawn, waving her arms in embarrassment. Piplup went tumbling away with a chirp. Brock laughed and shook the offered hand.

"I think I can speak for myself and Ash in saying that we are really glad to have traveled with you Dawn. And we both wish you well," said Brock. Dawn, still red, gave Brock a hug then went to grab her bag. Brock saw them to the door saying, "Do you think you can hang around for a bit while I go grab Ash? I know he'll regret walking out earlier." Surprisingly it was Dawn who shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Brock. He needs a bit of time to himself and..." Dawn took a deep breath, "I've been dreading saying goodbye to him anyway because I know I'll cry. I don't like goodbyes." Indeed she was already looking a little misty eyed. Brock just patted her shoulder before giving her a hug.

"Then instead of goodbye, it's I'll see you soon," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, see you soon Brock. Take care."

XxxxX

"Huu. Almost nine."

Ash leaned against an unlit lamppost outside the hotel he had been staying at during the competition. After leaving the room he had just let his feet carry him wherever and found himself in a garden on the side of the hotel. It really was a beautiful place, as it had a side view of the stadium. However, at this moment Ash would have liked nothing more than to be completely removed from the world of Pokemon battles and be back in his bed at home. He looked up at the darkening sky. When was the last time he had slept in his own bed? For that matter, when was the last time he had even gone home for a visit?

Feeling restless he automatically moved his hands to his belt which was void of pokeballs. It took him a moment to remember that he had left them back in the hotel room. Well, it was better this way. His Pokemon didn't need to see their trainer like this. "Dammit, how could I have lost so badly! We trained so hard. Harder than anyone!" Images of his Pokemon being cast aside like they were nothing were burned into his mind. His opponent's smirk of arrogant superiority as he overpowered Ash in every way possible...

So wrapped up in his own thoughts, Ash wasn't aware of the fact that he had company until it tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Ash turned to find himself face to face with none other than Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion. It was often said that she was the strongest of all Champions, though she denied the claim whenever she could. "Hey, Ash," she said cheerfully. "Mind if I join you?"

"Wha... oh, uhh not at all," he said, slightly uncomfortably. He sat down on a nearby bench and Cynthia followed suit.

"I take it you're not particularly thrilled to see me right now," Cynthia said after a moment. Ash looked at her. Now that he wasn't just thinking about why she might be there he noticed that she looked very different from how she normally did when they had met in the past. For one, she wasn't wearing her usual black outfit but a light jacket and jeans. Wrapped around her neck was an elegant looking white scarf that suited the look well. In fact it was so strange to see her wearing something like that, Ash blinked several times to ensure he was seeing her properly. In addition to her attire, Ash notice that her hair, which usually hung loose, was tied up into a ponytail. All in all, the young woman before him was a very different Cynthia than he had ever seen before.

Noticing his stares, Cynthia looked down at her outfit then said, "I tried to disguise myself a little because I got tired of being followed everywhere for a change. Did I do a bad job or something? I've never really worn this kind of stuff so casually before." She sounded a little worried. Ash however couldn't prevent a small laugh from escaping his lips. "What!" demanded Cynthia, flustered. "Even if I didn't do it that well you don't have to laugh..."

Ash quickly put up his hands in surrender. "No, no. I'm sorry I laughed and your outfit looks really good. I'm serious!" he added when Cynthia threw him a skeptical look. Smile fading, Ash continued, "Truthfully though, you're right. I'm not really happy to see you. Wait-" Ash shook his head. "That came out wrong. It's not that I'm unhappy to see you, I just wish you didn't have to see me like... this," he finished in disgust.

Cynthia considered the boy before her. He was always bursting with energy and excitement it was a little off putting to see him so down. However, ever since his battle had finished she had felt the urge to say something to him. Seeing that Ash wasn't likely going to keep talking she took a breath and began. "Let me start by saying that I came here for two reasons. The main reason that I'm here is that I want to confirm something that has come up recently." Ignoring Ash's obvious curiosity and surprise Cynthia continued, "but I want to take care of the other thing first."

"Ash, I did some research on you. Mainly the people you have met over the course of your life as a Pokemon trainer. I was pretty surprised by what I found too. You have ties of friendship with practically every important and powerful trainer in every region." Seeing Ash's look of confusion Cynthia said quickly, "Basically I mean you are good friends with every gym leader, member of the elite four, the battle frontier brains, each of the professors from the different regions, and even Lance and of course myself. What I'm getting at is that I understand why you are so crushed by your last battle. You are trying to live up to the expectations of all these people who have faith in you. You feel like you have betrayed them all, like you let them all down." Ash was staring at the ground now so Cynthia could not see his face, however, his clenched fists confirmed the truth of what she was saying.

Cynthia continued, stronger now with momentum, "However, in my opinion, whether or not they all still hold that faith in you is irrelevant." Ash looked up surprised. "I think you're going about this the complete wrong way, Ash. It's like you're doing the gym challenges and the subsequent competitions because you think that is the only way that your friends will acknowledge your accomplishments and potential. But that's making you needlessly rush ahead without allowing yourself to grow as a person. So do yourself a favor, go out into the world and find something important to Ash the person, not Ash the Pokemon trainer. Once you do you will mature into a great person and Pokemon trainer."

Cynthia finished speaking. Ash said nothing. It was times like this that he found it so hard to believe that she was a mere five years older than he was. At the ripe age of twenty, the difference in experience when it came to pretty much everything was just too different to judge. The following silence began to make Cynthia think that her speech, which she was now getting embarrassed over, might not have worked. She looked at Ash and was surprised to find him leaning back in his seat staring at the sky which was now littered with stars. Cynthia opened her mouth to ask an uncertain question when Ash suddenly broke the silence.

"Thanks," he said, still staring at the stars.

"What?" said Cynthia, a bit thrown off by his calm, one word response.

Ash dropped his gaze from the sky and met Cynthia's eyes. "I think I'll take your advise. I really appreciate you saying all that to me. I only wish that someone had said something like that to me a long time ago, then maybe I wouldn't have had to go through something like this. It's no wonder she's the Champion, right Brock?"

Cynthia gave a start as familiar laughter emanated from behind a nearby hedge row. Brock stood up from his crouched position and walked over to the two others saying, "Nothing gets by you does it, Ash? How long did you know I was there?"

"The whole time," said Ash smiling. He stood up and Cynthia followed suit. She was still embarrassed about her speech and finding out that someone else had heard it didn't help the situation at all. "Well now that Brock's not hiding anymore why don't you tell us the other reason you came to see me? Unless it was private," Ash added tentatively.

Cynthia sighed and put her hand to her forehead. "Yeah, he can hear it, it's not that big of a deal. There isn't anyone else around here sneaking around though, is there?" she shot at Brock who grinned abashedly and shook his head. "Well then, I've already gone a little over my time limit here but I'll give you the short version." Rummaging around in a pocket, Cynthia brought out a small round device that looked like a compass. She handed it wordlessly to Ash.

"Uh, thanks," said Ash confused. "So what were you going to tell me?"

"Put simply, a close friend of mine needs help, but wasn't able to get help herself so she asked me to help her find help by using that thing to help point to who _would _be able to help." Ash looked at the champion blankly.

"That's not simple, you said help too many times."

"Hey Ash, it's pointing right at you," said Brock, staring at the compass. Ash looked down at the device. Sure enough, the red tip of the needle was pointing directly at him. Smiling slightly at the coincidence, he moved the compass to his right.

The needle flowed smoothly and continued to point directly at him.

Ash's smile slipped slightly. For the next few seconds he moved the compass up, down, spun it, flipped it, and even gave it to Brock, who walked around him while watching it. No matter what he did, the needle pointed directly at him.

"I'd have never thought it possible, but it's a compass that points to Ash," said Brock bemusedly. "Maybe it points to short people?" Ash glared death at Brock who stifled laughter, turning back to Cynthia. " Seriously thought, why on earth do you have something like this? How is this thing even real?" Cynthia shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I have no idea. My friend just gave me that and said that it would point me to the person most suited to helping her once I got close enough." Ash looked over at Cynthia, unsure of what to say. The mystery behind the entire situation was immense. A part of him wanted to back away, yet...

"So you want my help?" he asked after a moment. "What does your friend need?"

"I don't know. There wasn't much time for explanations and no matter how much I try I can't reach her," said Cynthia gloomily. She rubbed her arm, clearly upset. "All she did was send me this compass and some instructions with a plea for help. I know it's weird. I know it doesn't make any sense. I won't force you to help me but... please?"

"Wait, wait," said Ash anxiously. The tone of Cynthia's voice was suddenly going somewhere he'd never heard from her before and it was a bit alarming. "I'm not trying to avoid helping you, but I just don't understand why you could possibly need _my_ help that much. I'm not even that great of a trainer. I mean wouldn't it be much better and safer to ask someone else like Lance or-"

"The compass pointed to you, Ash. I've had it for days while here, and it's never changed its focus. Resolutely and unwavering, it's always pointed to you. Of course if you don't want to, then as I said, I won't force you." Cynthia turned, moving away a bit before looking back at Ash.

"So, what are you going to do?" asked Brock in a level voice.

Ash looked at him, then looked at Cynthia. "What do you mean 'what am I going to do'?" Ash said calmly. He smiled and tossed the compass to Cynthia who caught, looking surprised.

"So, when are we leaving?"

**Present Day, Element City. In a large Pokemon Center located near the edge of the Water District.**

* * *

Brock gave a groan as he straightened his back. "Finally!" he said, replacing the final lid. Six large pots each occupied a stove with hot fires licking the bottoms. The pots were filled to the brim with a creamy and bubbling soup that could only be described as liquid heaven. For the past three hours, Brock had been tending to each of the pots, preparing the main course for the reunion. Taking off his apron which read 'Kiss the Cook', he turned to discover that he had a visitor. Walking over to her Brock said, "What's up, Misty? Was the lure of my cooking too much to handle?"

Misty laughed and lightly chopped Brock on the head saying, "Not quite, Rock-Head. A couple more people showed up and they are asking for you."

"Well it's good timing then. I just finished," said Brock, tossing the apron over a chair.

Taking the lead, Misty exited the kitchen and headed toward the main lobby of the Pokemon Center. It was a bit of a walk from the kitchen to their destination. They were currently in the biggest Pokemon Center in the entire Water District. Misty was humming to herself out of boredom. Brock laughed silently at the silly tune she was humming.

Despite not having seen each other for a long time, Brock was very happy to see that Misty was still the same stubborn yet playful girl at heart as the one who had been following Ash when he challenged the Pewter Gym all those years ago. When he and Misty had met earlier in the day, he had been afraid that there would be such a gap between them that it wouldn't be like old times. His worries, of course, were all for nothing as Misty was delighted to describe the past few years of her life to him. She talked to him for much of the time he was cooking, ignorant of the fact that he stopped listening after thirty minutes.

"I don't know if you heard, being away from Pewter City, but Cerulean was attacked by a group of Pokemon hunters recently," said Misty suddenly, her face twisting in distaste. Brock blinked in surprise.

"No this is the first I've heard of it. Was anyone hurt?"

"Not really," said Misty. "My sister's and I managed to put a stop to it but they got away with a large number of Pokemon from parts around town, including the gym and the daycare nearby. She didn't show herself but everyone is sure that it was J's Hunters."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Brock with a frown. "Hunter J's group is a lot to handle. I've run into her a couple of times while traveling around with Ash during the Sinnoh League."

"Sounds rough," she said shortly. Brock looked at the girl, completely nonplussed. Had that really been a random thought? Misty was still humming her silly tune. As they turned a corner, Brock caught a look at her face. She was smiling as she hummed, just like a little kid. Dismissing how odd she could be at times, Brock began to wonder who were the people that had asked for him when Misty slowed suddenly and motioned to him to move to the side of the hall.

Following suit, Brock was curious as to why they had moved over when the hall was empty. About to ask Misty what was going on, Brock opened his mouth to speak just as he heard the soft sounds of many feet moving fast.

"There they are," she said, pointing directly in front of her. Looking around Misty, Brock saw a group of Blissey walking towards them each carrying small boxes filled with potions and other Pokemon medical supplies.

As the group of Blissey passed them, Misty said, "You can tell just how huge this place is by the number of Pokemon helping Nurse Joy here."

Continuing their walk, Brock nodded saying, "Yeah you're right about that. Most Pokemon Centers only have one or two Pokemon helping the Nurse Joy, but this place has a ton." He paused, considering a question, then asked, "Huge Center aside, I'm curious what you think of this reunion party so far. Anything come to mind?"

Misty laughed saying, "Actually yeah, I have something I can say." She paused a moment then said, "This party is totally weird. I mean all the guests are really important Pokemon trainers and the invitation was pretty mysterious itself. There's more to this party than meets the eye if you ask me." Misty had turned to face Brock and was now walking backwards.

"But, you know, I think I'm _finally_ starting to get used to all these big-shots showing up. It feels kinda' crazy that I got an invite." She looked at the ceiling with a grin. "Well, then again, I _am_ a gym leader after all."

Brock smiled at Misty's comment. He had also received an invitation to this reunion-party from none other than the owner of the Battle Frontier, Scott.

_Hello-  
You are cordially invited to an inter-regional league party that  
I am hosting in Element City. With the exception of a small  
number of Pokemon trainers, the guests at the event are all_  
_Gym Leaders or higher. Although attending is, of course, up  
to you, it would be extremely unwise to decline as many  
important issues will be discussed at the event.  
Information regarding the time and place of the event is  
given on the reverse side of this invitation.  
See You All Soon!  
__-Scott_

_P.S. The famous Chef Brock will be cooking the main course for the party  
so I know you are all looking forward to that meal like I am!_

Brock's invitation had also come with a separate note, apologizing for putting him in charge of the cooking without consulting him first and explaining the circumstances of his actions. As Brock did owe Scott a huge favor, and having made food for large groups of people all his life, he understood and he was happy to do so. Now having completed the cooking, he was glad that he had been given the task. Working in the kitchen allowed him to get used to being around such a boisterous crowd. The past five years of his life had been spent mainly traveling around and honing his skill as a Pokemon breeder, building up a fairly good reputation for himself. On the other hand, making food for so many was reminiscent of the great times he had traveling with Ash and the girls. At such a reunion it was nice to have something to do.

Sounds began to reach Brock's ears. He could hear laughter and many overlapping conversations coming from a lot of people. Clearly the number of guests that had arrived in the past hour had gone up immensely. Though initially the whole idea of such a party taking place was fairly questionable in Brock's mind, upon his and Misty's arrival at the main lobby he could not deny that this party was the real deal.

Just one look at the whole central lobby showed that Scott had orchestrated the largest get-together of important Pokemon trainers from every region; probably in history. Brock recognized Gym Leaders from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh as well as their Elite Four counterparts. Of course, there wouldn't be anyone from the Unova region, one of the other regions that had a well reputed League. After all, Unova was in a completely different hemisphere than the other four regions. He also saw the Battle Frontier Brains scattered about conversing with the Gym Leaders. The group that drew his attention most of all however, was positioned almost dead center in the lobby. Pokemon Champion Cynthia and Dragon Master Lance were both conversing with a number of people he couldn't see from where he was standing.

"Brock. Hey, Brock!"

Brock gave a start. He had been completely lost in his own thoughts and didn't realize that Misty had been trying to get his attention.

"Ahh, sorry, Misty," he said apologetically. "I was just surprised by how many people have shown up even though it's early in the afternoon."

"It's fine, it's fine," Misty said, taking hold of his arm and pulling him through the milling crowd. "What did you mean by bringing up the time, anyway? What does the time have to do with anything to begin with? I mean, it's just a free-flowing party when you look at it."

Brock understood her confusion. "Well I had figured that more people would show up later in the day, closer to dinner," he said. Misty gave him a 'say-what?' look which made Brock roll his eyes and say, "Never mind, Misty. It's an adult thing, so you wouldn't completely understand it anyway."

Misty stopped walking and looked Brock straight in the eyes who returned the glare with one of equal aggressiveness. They only lasted three seconds before both burst out laughing at each other. The sudden laughter was loud enough that it caught the attention of the center group which quickly converged on an unsuspecting Brock, causing him to experience the most confusion he ever had all his life...

"Brock!"

"Brock, it's so good to see you!"

"Brock! How are you?"

"Brock, I missed you so much!"

"...Brock, are you alright?" said a calm, amused, voice that he recognized instantly.

"Cynthia," said Brock turning his head to face the Champion who was watching the chaotic hug from a safe distance. "Save me," he said. Brock attempted to take a step towards Cynthia, but merely caused the group to loose balance and collapse in a heap on top of him. Lance and Cynthia were attempting to suppress their mirth however they gave up after a bit and just laughed, hanging on to each other so as not to fall over themselves. Finally not being pushed and pulled in three different directions at once, Brock relaxed and waited for the three apologizing teens to get off his back. A relaxed male voice suddenly spoke close to his head,

"I'm sorry about that, Brock. Are you alright?"

Raising his head to face the man kneeling at his side Brock said with a grin, "Well, Norman, my spine's been snapped and I doubt I'll ever stand again, but apart from that I'm perfectly fine." Norman grinned back and held out his hand which Brock took, standing up with a groan.

Turning Brock around with a hand on his shoulder, Norman said, "Now how about we try that again though this time without assaulting Brock, yes?"

"Sorry, Brock," chorused the three good friends that stood before him.

Brock broke into a big smile, "It's great to see you three after all this time."

They beamed at him. Before him stood, from right to left, Dawn, May, and May's younger brother Max. Though the initial surprise of seeing them all so grown up was there, Brock maintained his composure much better than he had earlier in the day when he had bumped into Misty. Of course, his thoughts had not changed one bit. _'God, it is weird seeing these girls all grown up,'_ Brock thought with a mental sigh.

The light caught something at Max's waist, shining red and white, which drew Brock's attention immediately.

"Is that a pokeball at your waist, Max?" asked Brock in surprise.

As if he had been waiting for this verbal cue, Max took a step forward saying proudly, "That's right, Brock. I am an official Pokemon trainer! See?" he said pulling his pokedex out of his pocket.

May made a small sound that sounded like a cross between a snort and a sneeze. Max turned to face her, annoyed.

"Just because you're so famous doesn't give you the right to look down at me," he said.

May opened her mouth to retort but stopped at Dawn's hand on her shoulder. Sighing and turning her back to Max she said, "Sorry, Max. I didn't mean to offend you."

Dawn smiled at May then said to Max, "You shouldn't be so quick to flare up like that you know." Dawn put her free hand on her hip. "I mean, you haven't stopped talking about showing Brock your Pokemon ever since we got invited here. It does become somewhat grating after the millionth time."

Max blushed and turned his back to the girls muttering an apology. Dawn gave Brock and the others a cheerful smile then said as if the past minute had never happened, "So aren't you going to show Brock your Pokemon, Max?"

"Oh, yeah," said Max pulling out the two pokeballs attached to his belt Max said, "Come on out you two!"

Two bursts of light revealed a Treecko and a Slakoth.

"Treecko, Slakoth, this is Brock. He's a Pokemon breeder," said Max.

"Nice to meet you both," said Brock crouching in front of the two Pokemon. Treecko shook Brock's offered hand with both of its own while Slakoth did nothing. Upon further inspection the group discovered that it was sleeping standing up and Max recalled his Pokemon as the group laughed.

xxx

One hour later found the party in full swing. It appeared that everyone had arrived save the host, Scott. Dinner was still a little ways away and everyone had split into a number of smaller groups. In addition to the seating places that the Pokemon Center had, a number of extra chairs and couches had been set up to permit large groups to talk in comfort. Currently, Brock was sitting in the largest of these areas occupied by his now much larger group. There were a number of conversations going on at once and Brock was taking a break from talking, simply relaxing to the lull of the room.

Cynthia, who occupied a couch with him, said, "I'm going to go get a snack, make sure no one takes my seat." And with that she walked off.

Turning away from Cynthia, Brock took a minute to see who was currently in his group. Occasionally people joined and left however it looked as though the group had settled in. All of his old traveling companions were there in addition to many of the Gym Leaders Frontier Brains that the traveling group had connected with well. Jasmine, leader of the Olivine Gym, and Clair, leader of the Blackthorn Gym, were talking to Lance. Sitting near them were Flannery, leader of the Lavaridge Gym, Winona, leader of the Fortree Gym, Gardenia, leader of the Eternia Gym, and Maylene, leader of the Veilstone Gym. The four girls were the loudest of everyone else in the whole group, mainly due to the fact that they were laughing so much.

_'They're probably talking about boys,'_ thought Brock, chuckling.

The last part of the group consisted of all seven of the Frontier Brains. They were all close together in a circle, save Anabel, and they were talking fairly quietly and there was no laughter coming from them as there had been throughout the party. Currently, Spenser and Brandon were deep in conversation about something while the others listened intently. Anabel had placed herself between the group of Brains and Brock's old traveling companions, her head tilted slightly towards the group of Brains clearly taking in every word, however she was watching the other conversations.

Brock was beginning to feel suspicious and in all honesty he did not want to think about it at this time. In an attempt to distract himself Brock began to listen to the conversation that was going on nearest to him which was between Dawn, May, Misty, Norman, and an uninterested Max.

"...simple but really pretty at the same time. I wish I had a dress like that," Misty was saying. Anabel voiced her agreement and complimented Dawn as well. Startled at Anabel's sudden appearance in this conversation, Brock quickly looked over at the group of Brains who were now sitting in a loose circle and laughing at something.

_'...did I just imagine that before?'_ thought Brock in confusion. Meanwhile the conversation was progressing without the slightest notice of Brock's unease.

"Thanks!" said Dawn happily. Her hands automatically smoothed the sides of the dress she was wearing. She loved dressing up. Having done Pokemon contests for so long had rubbed off on her daily attire. "While the tournament is going on we can make some time to all go shopping together," Dawn continued excitedly. Speaking now to the group at large, Dawn said, "I still can't believe how many important people are here. And they're all gym leaders too! And the Elite Four from each region are here. I mean, even the Champion is here!" Everyone laughed at Dawn's childlike hyperactivity.

Taking advantage of the pause in the conversation, Brock asked a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"So how have your Pokemon been doing, Dawn?" asked Brock.

"They're all doing really well! To be honest, Piplup came in with me, but... I think he's lost," she said laughing.

"Darn, I wanted to see him."

"Sorry, Brock," said Dawn now seeing that Cynthia had returned stopping at the side of the couch and looking at the group at large. She stood there in silence for a moment then sighed.

"You know, it really does feel just like old times," she said with a sad smile. Taking her seat again she continued, "I do wish Ash were here though. That would make it perfect."

"Not likely," said Max, speaking for the first time in a while and additionally earning himself a bop on the top of his head from May. Rubbing his head, Max persisted to the group, "Come on, think about it rationally. After he lost in the Sinnoh League all those years ago, he quit Pokemon competitions. No one has seen him since. So why would he come now; to the largest most well publicized tournament ever, for that matter?" Many people in the group lowered their gaze somewhat, mulling over Max's words. Cynthia made to say something but Lance beat her to it.

"That's not entirely true, Max," said Lance. "It's true that Ash hasn't competed in any competitions since the one five years ago, but it's not as if he vanished of the face of the earth and I'm sure that he hasn't quit Pokemon competitions. I think he's just taking a long break from them." Everyone looked at him with flat suspicion. "What?" Lance said quickly. "I'm just talking from what I know about Ash. I mean when I first met him every other sentence out of his mouth was 'I'm going to become a Pokemon Master!' and he's not the type to give up on his dreams." He laughed and said, "Come on everyone, this is Ash we're talking about. I think there's a bigger chance of him being lost in a forest somewhere than him not training, don't you?"

"I guess so, but I still bet that he isn't going to show up. Did he even get an invitation, you think?" Max asked the group at large. This time it was Norman who delivered the chop.

"Well, Max," he said as Max rubbed his head again, "you got an invitation, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Good point," Max said grumpily while the rest of the group chuckled.

"Though I will give you some credit, Max. Just how is Ash supposed to get an invitation if no one knows where he is to begin with?" said Norman reasonably.

Brock leaned forward in his seat and everyone looked at him. He had been thinking on a theory for much of the time he was at the party and it had gotten stronger and stronger as the day went on. Brock had wanted to run his idea past people but he hadn't been able to find the right time so bring it up. Seeing the opportunity that the conversation had so perfectly presented him with, he jumped on it.

"I've been wondering about the whole meaning behind this party as well as the guest list all day and though I couldn't even begin to guess the purpose of the party I thought of something that I believe has some truth to it," Brock said, his gaze moving around the circle of listeners. He could see the interest in everyones' eyes which made him feel much better about the whole thing. At times, Brock had wondered if he was the only person there who was very curious about the whole mystery. Taking a deep breath, Brock began, "The biggest mystery here to me is why people who aren't officials of the Pokemon League have been invited to a party that is clearly specifically for them." As he said this he gestured to May, Dawn, and Max. "I also am referring to myself, as I am a Pokemon Breeder. Although it is true my invitation could be explained because of my job to cook," he added as an afterthought. "Anyway, when you really think about it, Ash is the only explanation for this party's entire guest list." Receiving confused looks from everyone around him Brock began to elaborate. "Well I guess it is much easier for me to see this explanation because I know everyone here. Put it this way, for those of us here who have traveled with Ash through whatever region it was, you know the gym leaders from that region well enough that they remembered who you are even after all this time right?" The girls nodded. Continuing Brock said, "Well Ash knows every single person in this room well enough to consider them all good friends of his. I would know as I've been to all of his gym battles. Even his very first one," he added at which he laughed. Seeing that no one was laughing with him and most had confused expressions he stopped and dully explained, "It's funny because when Ash challenged his first gym ever, I was the gym leader at the time."

"Ohhhh," said the group collectively at which point they broke into scattered laughter. Brock put a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"Anyway," said Brock loudly bringing the group back under control, "Ash is the only person that has a strong connection to every person who is here. Therefore I am sure he got invited."

"So basically you're saying that you just have this feeling that Ash was invited and invented this really scientific reason for it to be true," said Misty, earning a burst of laughter.

"Basically, but it does make sense right?" said Brock with a shrug. "Though, whether or not he does come, I just don't know." He stretched, saying, "One way or another, we'll find everything out when Scott shows up, whenever that may be."

"Well you're right about that, Brock," said Brandon who had stood up, closely followed by the other Frontier Brains, hands suspended at their waists. They were staring at the entrance. Twisting in his seat, Brock followed Brandon's gaze to the front doors of the Center.

Scott had finally arrived.

XxxxX

A/N(after the fact): Well here we go! So it begins. Nothing like a nice get together to kick things off. I remember when I first published this, the story was soooo different that what it is now. In a crazy way too, you wouldn't even believe me though if you're curious feel free to ask. Anyway at the moment I'm reminiscing about how this used to be two chapters with the first bit as a prologue because I wanted to troll people into thinking that the girl from the very beginning might be May. Now whenever I read it it's like I can hear the girl berating me for not saying her name the whole time. Anyway let me know what you think! Cheers and on to the next chapter!

One last thing, this fic will be very A/N light as I think it helps pace the story better. So for future, know that if you have any questions or something you'd like to share with me feel free to leave a review or PM me about it and I'll get right back to you. I love talking to readers and fellow writers. Some of my best ideas have come out of those conversations. I owe it all to you guys. ^_^


	2. It's More Dramatic That Way Isn't It?

**In an apartment located close to the Pokemon Center. Approximately thirty minutes before the end of the previous chapter.**

* * *

_Miranda-_

_Hey, I hope you are doing alright. I am truly sorry that I  
had to leave you alone for so long. I really wanted to send  
Pikachu along with Scott to keep you company until I got  
to the party later, but I couldn't because I need him for  
the tournament registration. I just wanted to let you know  
that I'm back and I'll see you soon._

_-Ash_

Miranda let her arm fall to her side, the letter she had read so many times slid between her fingers and fell to the floor. She sighed in frustration.

Miranda was lying spread out on her bed, facing the ceiling and listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall. Scott had dropped her off at her apartment over an hour ago for her to get ready saying that he would return as soon as he completed a few short errands. She had put out the nice outfit she wore in public on a chair by her bed and taken a long hot shower to calm herself down.

Not wanting to get her party clothing wrinkled Miranda had temporarily donned a shorts shirt and shorts at which point she noticed an envelope on her dresser that hadn't been there earlier that day. Figuring Scott must have put it there she opened it and read the first communication Ash had sent her in over a month. Now, laying on her bed, and having read the short letter over a dozen times, Miranda was getting very annoyed at Scott taking so long with his errands. It was true, she knew where the party was and it was completely sensible to walk there as it was so close to her home, however she could never bring herself to walk into a room full of people she didn't know at all without at least being led by someone she did. Sure she was way better around crowds and strangers these days but not _that_ much.

Overcome by restlessness, Miranda squirmed on her back then sat up quickly. Sounds of surprise hit her from all angles. She had become so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that she was surrounded by her Pokemon, who all lay around her lazily.

"Ah!"

Miranda gave a start as something cold and soft pressed itself to the bottom of her back. Turning she saw her Glaceon poking its nose into her back. She giggled, picking up Glaceon and touched noses with it. Feeling much more content, Miranda set Glaceon on the bed and got up, walking over to the full length mirror that was hanging on the wall. She ran her hands along her forearms tracing the intricate tattoos on each.

Miranda had many of these tattoos on her body and it was because of them that she had to be extra mindful of what she wore, else she drew unnecessary attention. In the beginning she had been the subject of many stares and questions until Ash helped her get something different to wear. On the back of each of her hands there were identical spiral like, swirl tattoos. Her forearms bore flame tattoos that began a little behind her wrist and ended by her elbows. Similarly, the outside of her legs from the knee to the ankle bore tattoos of striking lightning. At the nape of her neck was a tattoo of fangs. Underneath that one, covering her upper back, was a large tattoo of the sun. In turn, underneath the sun tattoo was a tattoo of the moon. Finally, at the top of each arm near her shoulder were two more tattoos. The one on her left arm was one of an elaborate snowflake, the one on her right arm a trio of leaves.

The tattoos were constant reminders of her past and her culture. Though those memories were not ones that she dwelt on often, she didn't hate her tattoos for it. On the contrary, Miranda loved them all. To have to cover them up with different clothing so as not to draw unwanted attention was one of the things that she resented about living in the city, albeit temporarily.

Through her open window, the sound of a jeep coming to a stop told Miranda that it was time to go. She got dressed and was just running a brush through her hair as a knock came on the door.

"Miranda! It's me!" said Scott loudly.

"Come on in, Scott!" Miranda called back to him, now putting her hair up into a ponytail, "The door is unlocked!"

A few minutes later, Scott opened the door revealing the same man who had left her over an hour ago though, Miranda noticed, he was wearing a different colored version of the shirt he loved so much.

Finishing her hair, she turned to face him saying, "So the reason you took so long was to change your shirt?"

Scott grinned saying, "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find a place that had 'em. I was half way in the Wind District before I finally found a store that sold them."

Miranda laughed at this, but couldn't help but wonder if there might be some truth to it. Ash had described Scott as completely carefree without bounds, and after spending five minutes with the man, she knew he was right.

"So are we going to drive there or walk?" asked Miranda as they left the apartment and headed for the elevator. She lived on the top floor of a five floor building. For reasons unknown to her, she wasn't required to pay anything to stay there, however, this didn't bother her as she didn't have a way to pay in the first place. Sometimes it was better to not know something than to know it.

"We will be walking to the party," said Scott, pressing the button for the main floor. "It's only a few minutes walk to the Center from here. In any case, I don't want to really give any advance warning that about when I'm showing up." Scott led the way through the front doors of the building into the pleasant afternoon air. Miranda stretched, smiling. She loved being outside. It was one of the reasons that she spent so much time on that quaint hill as opposed to in her apartment. As they began to make their way to the Pokemon Center, Miranda asked curiously,

"Why don't you want people knowing when you are going to get there? I mean, it's your party isn't it?"

Scott laughed. "Yes it does seem weird when you think about it. You see, about a week ago I gave an interview on national television about the upcoming tournament. It was basically so that people who didn't know too much about it would be able to understand how it all worked."

"So how does that make you want to hide from your guests?"

"I was just getting to that," said Scott. He paused for a moment, Miranda could see that he was laughing to himself. "Well, what happened was that at the end of the interview I told the entire world that I had recently officially added another Frontier Brain to the Battle Frontier that I run in Kanto."

"Really?

"That's right," said Scott, still smiling.

"So who is it?" Miranda asked eagerly.

"That's the thing, girl, I'm not telling." Scott ignored the face Miranda was giving him and continued, "See, I haven't told anyone about this at all, not even the current Brains. The facility was built in secret, under a facade fed to the public. I mean, think about it from their point of view. I added another person to their rank and I didn't even tell them that I was thinking about adding one more. I'd imagine they are going to capture me or something and force me to talk." At this Scott laughed his loudest yet. Miranda shook her head at the whole situation.

They kept walking as Scott calmed down. Finally regaining his composure he said evenly, "Though I guess it really wouldn't matter initially if I told everyone who the Eighth is, there is a really major problem that will surface if I do tell and I will address this at the party later. Anyway," he added, pointing ahead, "we're here."

* * *

Miranda stood just outside the Pokemon Center, looking at the sky. She was alone now. Scott had entered a few minutes ago leaving her with some well put instructions.

_"Don't go in at the same time as I do, wait a few minutes then come in. Who knows what's going to happen and I figure it's best if you come in a little after I do because it should be less chaotic by then... at least it should be by the entrance."_ (laughing)

"Well," said Miranda, speaking to the open air, "I'm bored so chaos or not I'm going in." She took a calming breath, then walked up the steps and entered the Pokemon Center.

Scott had been right, for the most part. The area around the doors was empty, however, Scott was surrounded by every other person in the room and it looked like he was being interrogated by those closest to him. Not one person noticed that she had entered the building which suited her fine. She would rather meet all these people after they had calmed down. Noticing a Pokemon statue nearby the crowd, Miranda went over to it and climbed up on it, giving her a much better view of the scene as well as enabling her to clearly hear what people were saying.

"It shouldn't matter, Scott!" a young woman was saying forcibly. "I still don't really understand why you didn't tell us anything all this time, but at least tell us who the eighth is now!"

"I already told you all I'm sorry that it ended up being this way, but for the sake of the tournament I cant say anything, nor do I want to," Scott said. Miranda thought that he was pretty calm for someone who looked like he was about to get mobbed. The group of people quieted as another person from the center ring spoke.

"Scott, how about we do this. Why don't we all go grab seats and you can tell us exactly why you set this whole thing up. It's pretty obvious to all of us that trying to muscle anything out of you is pointless." Miranda was impressed at the way the man had taken control of the situation and the crowd. She was well versed in the results of group psychology. A person could have anyone turn on them, no matter how close they were.

"Brilliant suggestion, Brandon," Scott said jovially, and relieved. "However I do believe that it is time that we ate dinner. So while you all set up an area where I can speak to everyone, I'll go and tell them to bring out the food. I can explain everything as we eat." Miranda watched him walk off out of the huge lobby. When Scott had mentioned food, Miranda had realized exactly what had been bugging her the moment the front doors had opened though she was too focused on what was happening to Scott to pay it much mind. Now she realized that she smelled food. Wonderfully delicious food. She took big, deep breaths, smiling happily. Miranda hadn't ever smelled anything this wonderful her entire life.

"Uhhh, hey, are you okay up there?"

Miranda gave a start and nearly slipped off the statue. Embarrassed, she looked down to see that everyone was looking up at her. Apparently while she was enjoying the smell of the food, someone must have noticed her and pointed her out to others which repeated until everyone was looking at the unknown girl sitting on the statue. The person who had spoken to her was the one closest to the statue. She was looking straight up at her.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. But why are you up there in the first place?" the girl continued.

"Oh, well I just wanted a better view," Miranda replied, everyone's stares making her nervous. Inadvertently she had made herself the center of attention. She climbed down quickly.

"Then you must have come here right after Scott did. Oh, I'm Dawn, by the way," said the girl who had called out to her earlier, cheerfully holding out her hand.

"It's Miranda," said Miranda, shaking Dawn's hand. Not releasing her, Dawn pulled her away from the statue out into the open where people started introducing themselves to her. Miranda didn't even try to remember everyone's names; there were too many people there. They each gave their name and their position after which they went to go help set up the sitting area for the talk later. Finally Miranda found herself facing the people who had been the inner ring of the crowd surrounding Scott as well as a few others that were definitely not Gym Leaders. As the first of them came over, Miranda smelled the same smell of soup that had taken hold of her senses earlier.

"You're the cook, aren't you!" she said suddenly, eagerly. The man looked surprised, as did the rest of the group.

"My name is Brock, and yes I did cook the dinner, how did you know?" he said curiously.

"You smell just like that soup. It smells so good. That's why I spaced out on top of the statue," said Miranda. "I haven't eaten potato soup in a long time and I'm really looking forward to eating some later. If it tastes as good as it smells, I..." she broke off, her mind carried away by the thought of such good food.

"Oh so it's potato soup for dinner," said the short boy. "I can't wait Brock!" He came over to Miranda. "You know, Brock is the best cook around! Seriously! I'm Max by the way. I'm May's brother." He pointed to the girl standing next to Dawn who waived.

"Like he said, I'm his sister, May. Nice to meet you, Miranda."

The rest of the group introduced themselves one after another. As, Miranda had suspected, the seven people that had been closest to Scott were the Battle Frontier Brains. Most of them left to help with the sitting area, however three remained. The one that currently had Miranda's full attention was the old man named Spenser. When she had shaken his hand she had felt something different about him then everyone else who was there.

"What's up, Spenser?" said Anabel coming over when she noticed that he hadn't made to go with them. Brandon had also stopped in curiosity.

Spenser gave no indication that he had heard Anabel say anything. He took a step toward Miranda and said, "I don't mean to sound strange or rude, but may I see the tattoos on the back of your hands?"

"Of course," said Miranda. This was not the first time that she had been asked to show the backs of her hands to curious people. It did get annoying after a while but she saw no harm in it now.

Spenser examined both tattoos closely. It looked as if he were calculating something. Apparently making up his mind about something, he asked, almost tentatively, "You wouldn't happen to have, well, more tattoos like this would you?"

Miranda was really curious now. She wanted to know where this was going. "Yes, I do," she said pulling up one sleeve of her shirt to reveal a fire tattoo that surprised many of those who were looking. Spenser looked very excited now.

"Where are you going with this, Spenser?" asked Brandon who had come over and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I think you're beginning to scare her."

Miranda laughed, shaking her head, "It's not that. I'm just surprised that you guessed that I had more than one kind of tattoo." Miranda pulled her sleeve down continuing, "Other people have been interested in my tattoos on the back of my hands but normally they just leave it at that. You're the first person to realize I have more."

"Wait up a second." May was looking at Miranda strangely. "I'm not against tattoos or anything, I mean I have a small one on my back near my shoulder, but exactly how many tattoos do you have?"

Miranda looked at the ceiling for a moment, then said, "By that are you asking how many individual tattoos I have or just different ones."

"Tell us both," said Dawn interested.

"Well individually I have, uhh, let's see." Miranda counted for a moment then told a wide eyed group, "I have eleven." Not noticing their stares, she continued, "Separate tattoos though, I have eight."

At this Spenser gave a shout of excitement. "I should ask a few more questions to confirm it, but am I right in thinking you are a descendant of the Eon Tribe?"

"The what?" said the group at large.

"It may be, Spenser, and I completely understand your excitement too," said a voice behind them.

"There you are, Cynthia," said Brock, "You disappeared on us all. By the way, Miranda, this is Cynthia, the Sinnoh Pokemon League Champion. Cynthia, this is Miranda."

"It's an pleasure to meet you," said Cynthia, shaking Miranda's hand and bowing her head slightly.

"Likewise," Miranda said breathlessly. Ever since Ash had told her about the greatest female Pokemon trainer in the world (saying the greatest trainer overall was of course himself), Miranda had always wanted to meet her. Now that she was finally shaking hands with her it felt slightly unreal. She had so much respect for this woman who kicked so much ass.

Pulling herself back together, Miranda said to both Spenser and Cynthia, "I really don't know what the Eon Tribe is though."

Spenser looked at Cynthia who took the cue and explained, "To be honest, the name really isn't that important. It _is_ after all a name that was thought up by someone who obviously wasn't part of the tribe itself. What is important though is the meaning of the name. Though simple to the point of silliness in my opinion, the name does illustrate the largest identifying feature of the tribe." She stopped speaking at which point Spenser continued,

"The person who thought up the Eon must have been thinking about the Pokemon that are ultimately worshiped as guardians and deity of the tribe."

The girls and Max were giving Spenser blank looks. Miranda could tell that they had no idea where this was going. She suppressed the urge to laugh. Spenser sighed and chuckled at their faces saying, "The Eon Tribe worshiped the Pokemon Eevee, and all the different evolutions of Eevee. I assume that because most of them end in 'eon', the tribe was named the Eon Tribe. Nothing to do with the actual "Eon" Pokemon."

"Oh," said Dawn and May, understanding finally. Max however asked,

"So are you from that Eon Tribe?"

Miranda felt trapped with all these people around her picking apart her past. However before she could say anything, Spencer interjected with a laugh, "Of course she isn't, boy. The Eon Tribe vanished thousands of years ago! Only the most ancient records even hold traces of them. Why do you think I asked if she was a descendent?" Miranda breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Haha, right in one," she said quickly. "To answer your question, I don't actually know. My family has been doing this for as long as I can remember so I guess it's possible."

"Oh, that's really cool," said May while the rest nodded. Miranda smiled, but was suddenly distracted by a burst of wonderful aroma. She spotted a train of steaming pots moving into the room, Scott leading the group.

"Look, here comes Scott with the soup. Let's go eat everyone."

Everyone made for the food which had been wheeled out on large movable tables complete with bowls, spoons, napkins, and soft bread. Miranda hung back, letting everyone pass her. She raised her hand, looking once more at the markings that had drawn everyone's interest. It hurt to lie to such nice people. Especially since they were Ash's friends. But they couldn't possibly understand...nor would they believe her for that matter.

"Miranda?"

She looked up to see Cynthia standing there. Waiting. Her face uncertain. Shaking her head, Miranda smiled and ran forward.

Dinner was everything and more than what Miranda had expected. The room was full of lively chatter and laughter, however Miranda was deaf and blind to everything except her soup. Initially, the group that was sitting with her had attempted to ask her some questions, however they all realized rather quickly that there would be no talking to her until she stopped eating.

"Ahhhh," sighed Miranda, completely content with herself. She had wolfed down three bowls of potato soup along with a number of rolls. She curled up in her seat resting her head on the arm of the chair so that she could still talk with everyone. After a minute of recovering from the shock of seeing anyone eat so much soup so fast and not explode, Brock nodded to the rest of the group and they all leaned forward, paying attention.

"So Miranda, we were wondering. What's your relation to Ash?" said Brock. "You're the only person here we've never met before." Miranda sat up at his question.

"By Ash do you mean Ash Ketchum?" Miranda asked quickly.

"Yeah, him," said Anabel. She was sitting next to the other girls including a newly introduced Misty, who apparently had been helping Nurse Joy with something right after Scott arrived.

"How did you know I knew Ash though?" asked Miranda confused.

Anabel took a sip of her drink then said, "Well, you see, it turns out that every person that was invited here is friends with Ash. So seeing as how you got invited, we figured you must know Ash somehow. We're just really curious because nobody here had ever met you before today."

"Oh, that's interesting," said Miranda, "but to be honest, I never got an invitation to the party. Well, not a formal one. Scott kinda brought me along. He said I would enjoy it a lot and that there would be a lot of Ash's friend here too so, here I am." She laughed and relaxed back into her chair. "So a bunch of you traveled with Ash when he was competing in the Pokemon League all those years ago?"

"That's right," said Brock. "Actually, I traveled with him the longest. I was with him through every region. Misty was with us for Kanto and Johto, May and Max were with us for the Hoenn region, and Dawn was with us in the Sinnoh region. We spent about a year or so in each I suppose."

Miranda looked at Anabel. "So you never traveled with Ash then," she said, half asking.

Anabel shook her and said, "Though I would have loved to at the time, I couldn't. I am a Frontier Brain after all. I couldn't just leave on an adventure."

"So did Scott break? Did he tell you who the eighth Brain is?" asked Miranda, sitting up again.

"No, but we've had a thought," she said slowly as though still considering it.

"Who," said Miranda.

The group was silent for a second then as one said, "Ash."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, for starters he's actually eligible to become a Brain," said Anabel. Noticing Miranda's confusion she continued, "You see, to become a Brain, apart from there actually having to be an open spot, you need to defeat every other Brain. Though it was years and years ago, Ash did beat all of us."

"I see," said Miranda, tilting her head to one side. "I guess it makes some sense, but I know he isn't the eighth. Being a Brain means you're stuck at a facility of some sort right? If he had gotten something like that he would have told me."

Anabel leaned forward slightly annoyed and said, "Hey, how can you be so sure of that and besides that," she leaned back folding her arms, "Ash hasn't been seen in over five years by anyone anywhere you know."

"Really?" said Mirand, blinking. "Oh well, I guess that's about right. I've never met any of you before today, that's for sure." Seeing the lack of understanding she continued, "I've been traveling around with Ash for over four years. We've been-" she stifled a huge yawn- "all over." Miranda looked around at the speechless faces she was surrounded by. "You know, Ash is here on the island. It's getting late too so he should be here soon. By the way..." She shifted a bit in her seat. "Where's the bathroom?"

The group watched as Miranda trotted off in the direction of the lavatory. Thunder could be heard through the walls. It was beginning to darken outside.

"She's interesting isn't she?" said a voice.

The group looked around to find Scott standing behind them. "Scott, who is she really?" asked Cynthia not taking her eyes off of Miranda.

"Not sure to be honest," he said after a second. "I've only known her a short time, but she's quite attached to Ash. Maybe they're dating?"

"Dating?" said Anabel in alarm. Everyone nearby turned their heads in curiosity at the sudden outburst but she shook her head quickly.

"Well neither of them have actually said something like that but I just figured that's the case, considering how much they're around each other," Scott said with a shrug. "They are close, at any rate. She didn't say anything?" The group just looked at him flatly. "Haha, well of course not. I guess that's not something people usually talk about when you've just met."

"It's not that, Scott," said Misty. "It's just, how does the kid Ash Ketchum end up with a girl. So out of character."

"But you know," began Dawn, and all eyes moved to her, "it has been over five years since we last saw him and it's not like we all haven't changed a lot in that time too." Dawn sighed, looking at the ceiling for a moment. "At least, I know I have changed a lot. I suppose it's not that farfetched for Ash to have found himself someone." Everyone just looked at her blankly and she sighed. "Oh alright, it's absolutely impossible. Sorry Ash I tried to defend you..."

"So we ask her when she comes back," said Anabel to the group at large.

Cynthia shook her head at the whole thing and said, "So, Scott, it's pretty obvious that you've been in contact with Ash. I was wondering If you knew when he was planning on showing up. Hopefully before dark?"

Scott scratched his chin with a frown. "To be honest, I really couldn't say. It's true that I have been in contact with him. I actually was talking to him this morning before I went to go pick up Miranda there." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "As far as when he will show up, I don't know, however," he motioned to Miranda's still empty seat, "Ash did tell her that he would come to the party, and despite the fact that I've only been around them together a few times I know that he doesn't lie to her, nor make promises he can't keep."

Scott smiled and shook his head at himself. Clapping his hands together, he said, "Well then, Ash aside, it's time for me to give my speech." Miranda had finally reemerged from the hallway and was making her way back to the table.

"Ah, what's up? Did I miss something?" she asked.

"Nope, not a thing," said Anabel, chickening out at once. Everyone else sweatdropped but said nothing.

As Scott made his way to the front of the restructured seating area, everyone who had been milling around filed into seats waiting for the mystery to be solved. Miranda was unhappy that Ash hadn't shown up yet, however she sat up and focused. She knew that Ash would be unhappy that he missed this, but she would fill him in when he arrived.

_'After he gets mobbed by everyone here that is,'_ Miranda thought with a smirk.

Scott reached his place and looked at the group of people at large. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Half the crowd looked around quickly. It was difficult to get used to the rapid changes in the weather that Element was named for. Scott couldn't help but grin at them all.

"Well, I know it's a little bit belated, but first I'd just like to thank you all for coming to this party. I know that there is a lot going on in all of your heads and I also know that I am the cause of most of it so without further ado, allow me to clear everything up." Scott let out a breath of relief and said, "Alright, and from now on I'm going to be talking like a normal person. All that lofty lingo makes me tired." At this many in the group laughed and the heavy, serious atmosphere of a moment ago lightened considerably.

"So," he continued cheerfully, "there's a lot that we can talk about so what do you want to know first?"

"Why are we having this party?" asked Whitney, Leader of the Goldenrod Gym.

"That's actually a good place to start," said Scott nodding. Looking at the crowd he said, "Essentially, there are two main reasons for this party. The first is that there is information about the tournament that you all need to be informed of before it begins." Scott was interrupted by Falkner, Violet City Gym Leader.

"Couldn't we have each been told through mail or something?" he said flatly. "I mean I don't know about everyone else but I-" Falkner was cut off as Whitney, who was sitting in front of him, turned around and shot him a dangerous look. "I, uhh, never mind, Scott. Please continue," he said after a moment. He sunk back into his chair and shivered at Whitney who beamed at him and faced forward again.

"...Right, anyway," Scott continued as if that had not just happened, "the other reason that I organized this party is that I just wanted everyone to get together and have a good time. Get togethers like this never happen these days and it just depresses me, you know?"

"Actually, Scott," said Noland, chuckling, "to be honest, your second reason makes way more sense coming from you than the first one does," at which many laughed in agreement. Noland crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair saying, "However, now that that's out of the way, why did you completely hide the fact that you appointed an eighth Brain?"

"And why won't you tell anyone, let alone us, who it is?" asked Lucy. The rest of the Brains each nodded or made sounds of agreement with the two questions. Heavy rain now hit the front windows of the Center. Scott looked at them all and sighed slightly.

"It's all for the sake of the tournament," he said evenly. "You all saw that interview, so you all know what I said on the matter. Just think of how everyone in the tournament is going to approach each opponent now." Seeing that his meaning wasn't becoming clear to most of them, Scott persisted, "By revealing to the world that there is an unknown person with unknown Pokemon with an unknown strength that is at least as good as any of the other Frontier Brains, and that this person is entering the tournament, I planted the seed of potential! Well in an ideal world of course..."

"You're saying," said Cynthia, her voice carrying over every person clearly. "that by telling everyone, including us, that there is an unknown Frontier Brain in the competition, whenever we are battling someone we won't help but wonder, 'Is that the Eighth?'. While it may intimidate some trainers, the vast majority will probably attack every battle as if they were facing the Eighth, simply because it is possible their opponent _is_ the Eighth. In an ideal world, as you've said."

"Precisely, Cynthia. Couldn't have said it better myself. I know it won't work perfectly, but it'll make a difference and that's what I was going for," said Scott, happy that someone was able to get the meaning across to the group.

"Somehow, putting everyone through a certain amount of grief just to make a tournament better is just so something you'd do," said Brandon, letting out a rare sigh of exasperation. A few in the group grinned.

"Why thank you," said Scott, completely not offended.

"So when will we find out who this stranger is?" asked Anabel.

"Well," said Scott, considering his thoughts, "the eighth will probably be the only person you all don't know who makes it to the finals."

"Huu. That's some pretty high confidence you have there."

Everyone looked around to the source of the unknown voice. Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and a tall figure wrapped in a dark cloak and a very large hood which concealed his face, had just come out of one of the hallways leading out of the main lobby. The person's cloak dripped water everywhere. Whoever he was he had clearly just been outside. The three stopped and the hooded man turned to the others saying,

"Thank you both so much for helping me get here. Without you two, I probably would have been in very hot water, no pun intended," he added, shaking his cloak. Nurse Joy smiled.

"It's no problem at all, plus weren't you the one to help us in the first place?" said Officer Jenny as Nurse Joy nodded in agreement.

"Don't forget to give your Pokemon a good rest before the tournament starts," said Nurse Joy, and nodding, she led Officer Jenny back into the hall which they had entered through, leaving the hooded man alone. He faced the group of silent people who were all staring at him without even the sound of breathing. Then, taking the entire group aback, the stranger lifted his right arm and waved at them all saying awkwardly,

"Uhh, hey guys! Long time no see!"

Miranda bounded over to the man, giggling despite herself, and said, "Have you been wearing that hood long enough that you forgot when you're wearing it?"

"Huh? Oh! You're right, Miranda. That's kinda embarrassing actually..." In a grand movement the man shed his cloak, throwing it aside in a heap, revealing a grinning face and a bright yellow Pokemon hanging onto his shoulder. His grin widened as the Pikachu jumped into Miranda's arms with a happy cry. He looked at the mass of old friends before him, and struck a pose.

"The Mighty Ash Ketchum returns!"

* * *

**Five minutes, one dog pile, and fifty some-odd hugs later...**

* * *

Ash finally took a seat in the center of the group. His head still spun from the chaos of trying to survive the past few minutes. It was not as if he wasn't happy to see everyone. On the contrary it took Ash a huge amount of willpower _not_ to jump around the crowd like a hot potato as Pikachu had done. If Brandon hadn't reminded the group what they had been in the middle of, Ash probably would have still been trying to fend off dozens of them.

"Thanks for that," Ash said to Brandon as he took his nearby seat.

Brandon turned to him and said, "I'll be honest; chaos doesn't really suit me." Ash chuckled at which Brandon added, "And we were in the middle of something really important."

"Yeah I heard. So what did I miss?" Ash asked. Miranda appeared with Pikachu in her arms and sat down beside Ash. She sat down beside him and said softly,

"Don't worry, I'll fill you in when this is over. We just finished the first part anyway."

"Great. Thanks, Mira," said Ash. She smiled at him and returned her attention to Scott. Looking around, Ash discovered that a number of his friends were eying him and Miranda very closely. What was with them?

"Well then," said Scott after the last person was seated, "now that Ash is finally here, this makes all my guests present and accounted for. Once again thank you all for coming." He took a deep breath and said, "Now, getting back to the discussion, this next part is essentially the rules of the tournament. Now before anyone says anything," Scott said quickly, for he could see some people about to speak up, "I know the majority of you all know the rules because every person who is competing received a booklet with them when they registered for the tournament. However, there are special rules regarding the Pokemon League Officials that are competing."

At Scott's last statement, hushed muttering broke out throughout the crowd. Pressing on, Scott continued, "For various reasons that I will explain if asked, many rules have been created with the sole purpose of making this tournament as challenging and as exciting as possible. So basically what I'm saying is that a portion of the tournament is rigged, though not in a dark way," he added laughing.

"What do you mean, Scott?" asked Cynthia. "Just tell us specifically what you are referring to."

"Excellent; straight to it then," said Scott clapping his hands together. He held up one finger. "First, as you should know, the tournament begins with two preliminary rounds where each run by a point-win system. Essentially you battle one on one with a large number of trainers and accumulate points by winning. You need to amass three wins to make it to the next round. There are an enormous number of trainers entered in this tournament so it is necessary. We might even add an extra round if it doesn't cut it down enough for whatever reason. That aside, Pokemon League Officials, meaning all of you, do not take part in the preliminaries. The first battles you all will be having will be during Round One of the tournament. Just think of yourself as seeded competitors."

Scott raised a second finger. "Second, the tournament bracket has been rigged so that none of you will fight each other for at least one round." At this, there was a burst of commotion.

"That's pushing it, Scott," said Ash over everyone else. "I know it wouldn't be that fun if the Elite Four from each region knocked each other out, but still, messing with who battles who isn't right."

"We were aware of that when we thought up the rules to this tournament on day one," Scott said. "Just bear with it. That's as far as it goes in that respect. After the first round of the tournament it's all up in the air." The crowd calmed after a minute and Scott continued, raising a third finger.

"Third, I just want you all to know that once it gets to the last handful of rounds, things will change. Match rules will be determined randomly for some rounds." Scott scratched his chin then said, "One last thing, before I take questions, you should all be aware of the fact that no information about competitors' Pokemon will be released to anyone during the course of the tournament. You are required to register the Pokemon you use for each match, however the only trainer who's Pokemon line up you will know with one hundred percent accuracy is your own. It's much more challenging that way isn't it?" Scott was smiling at the group.

"Oh, and Cynthia," said Scott, "in the very unlikely event that you do lose to a trainer, your title and position will not be revoked. For you to lose the title of Champion, you have to be officially challenged to a Title Match by an eligible trainer. Same goes to the other Champions in the competition."

"Thanks, Scott. I feel much better now knowing that," she responded dryly, at which a wave of laughter broke out.

"Just doing my job. So are there any questions about anything?" asked Scott, who pulled a cleared table over and sat on it, resting his feet.

As people in the group moved toward Scott, Ash turned to Miranda and said, "So what part did I miss?"

Miranda opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Anabel who said sarcastically, "Nothing, too important. Just the bit about the end of Scott's interview from the other day."

"Oh, well I was just curious," said Ash with a shrug, completely missing the sarcasm. He looked up to see the group of friends that had gathered around him looking at him with surprised faces.

"What? Did I miss something here or not?" said Ash apprehensively. Miranda sighed at the group and said to Ash,

"What they weren't expecting was that you actually didn't see the interview that Scott gave about the tournament recently." Miranda stood up and finished, "Long story short, Scott officially added an eighth Brain to the Battle Frontier." Ash jumped out of his seat and said excitedly,

"No way, after all this time! So who is it? Come on guys, tell me!"

The group remained silent for a moment then Brock said flatly, "Well to be honest, we all had a feeling that it was you." Ash looked at Brock with raised eyebrows.

"I guess I see where you're all coming from. Maybe I am." Eyes bored into his. Ash laughed, scratching his head. "I have been, well, out of touch with the rest of the world for the past five years you know, right? It's not as if I left it with something positive to remember my by anyway," he said. "Plus, why don't you know who it is?" Ash added, looking at Anabel. She sighed.

"I guess it really isn't you is it," she mused, at which Ash shrugged. "Well anyway, Scott didn't tell anyone who it is because he wants us all to be aware of the fact that there is an unknown Frontier Brain entering in the tournament and it could be anyone."

"What a way to keep everyone on their toes," Ash said, shaking his head in amusement.

"So what have you been doing all this time? Don't try to dodge the question either," the group around him clearly was not about to let him leave, "because we'll stop you."

"Just five years and look at what wonderful people you've all become," Ash said sarcastically, holding up his hands to show that he wouldn't try to run. "I've just been training."

"...training. I see," said May rolling her eyes at Dawn who giggled. "So how did it go?"

"Okay, okay, I was training while traveling all over the world. I stuck to areas that weren't on maps. Hey," he said, annoyed at the skeptical looks he was getting, "it's not like when I did leave I was by myself. I was helping out Cynthia for about half a year before I started exploring the unknown. Brock taught me a lot about the stuff he did for us when we were out challenging the gyms. Even learned how to cook." Ash realized that he had unintentionally placed Brock and Cynthia in hot water just after he finished speaking. Everyone was glaring at Brock and Cynthia who wore identical guilty expressions.

"Stop glaring guys, it's not that big of a deal, though speaking of big deals..." Ash turned to Max. "Max, you're a Pokemon trainer now aren't you?"

"Yeah! I have two Pokemon; Treecko and Slakoth," said Max with excitement.

"Wait, but what ever happened to that Ralts we ran into in Hoenn years ago?" asked Ash, frowning. "I thought that you were going to make him your first Pokemon."

Max looked at the floor sadly. "You're right about that," he said softly. "We went back to the area where Ralts lived right before I turned ten to find him, but he wasn't anywhere. We didn't even see the other two. I mean, it's kinda silly to think that after almost three years they would still be in the same place and that no one would have captured him." Max shook his head quickly and looked up into Ash's face. "But I'm never gonna give up on looking for him!" Max had a fierce determination in his eyes. Ash grinned and put a hand on Max's shoulder.

"I'll keep an eye out as well for ya, Max," he said. Max smiled.

"Thanks, Ash."

* * *

xxx

People had begun to leave around that time, bidding each other good luck in the tournament or making plans to meet on a later date. Eventually only about a dozen people were left; Ash's closest friends there.

"It's time for me to head out," said Misty, yawning and looking at the time. "I'm actually pretty tired. It's been hectic lately, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Brock. "Did you say bye to Ash?"

"Yep, I already did so no need to bother him now. He looks pretty into what they're talking about too," said Misty, looking over at Ash who was talking to Maylene and Cynthia intently.

"I'll see you around then," said Brock. Misty gave Brock a hug then walked out into the late, though still bright, evening. Brock watched her disappear then walked back to the only group of people remaining. At the heart of the group was Ash, Maylene, and Cynthia. Miranda stood behind Ash listening to their conversation. Lance and Clair sat nearby them. Dawn, May, Max, and Norman had left right before Misty had, making the group small.

"What's going on?" Brock asked Miranda, looking at the trio.

"They're just talking training strategies, I'm not so sure why they are so excited about it..." she said shrugging. "Ah, here comes Scott." Ash and the rest of the group walked over to meet him. He was accompanied by Nurse Joy.

"I think it's about time to break this party up," said Scott.

"Unfortunately, the Pokemon Center has to go back to being a Pokemon Center," she said smiling at them all. "Rest well and good luck in the tournament."

Maylene, Lance, and Clair all said their goodbyes and headed off to their tournament housing, Maylene catching a ride on Lance's Dragonite. As the heavy rain had completely cleared up, Ash, Miranda, Brock, and Cynthia all walked back to Miranda's apartment, deciding to socialize for a little while longer because it was so close to the Center. They had said their goodbyes to Scott at the Pokemon Center.

"I have some business to attend to here before I head back to HQ," he had said to the group as they were about to depart.

"But what about your jeep?" asked Miranda.

"Ash, Cynthia, and Brock are going to use it to get to wherever each of them are staying. Don't worry about it, I'll get it back in the end," Scott said laughing and waving at the group as they left.

When they arrived at Miranda's apartment all four collapsed in various places, more tired than they had thought they were. Miranda and Cynthia were sitting on the bed and Brock had made his way to the comfy chair Miranda sometimes relaxed in. Ash had abandoned all thought and just lay down on the floor in the middle of the room.

"What a day," he said after a moment of silence. "It was really great seeing everyone again. I'm so glad Scott invited the girls and Max for me. Of course at the time he had only told me that it was a reunion party." Ash laughed. "I guess he duped us all in one way or another today."

"No kidding," said Brock.

Cynthia gave a tired chuckle and said, "Sorry Miranda, I know we just met earlier, but do you mind if I crash here tonight. I can't see myself making it back to where I am staying." She turned to face Miranda. "I hope you don't mind...?" Cynthia broke off. Miranda was fast asleep on her back, the corners of her mouth turned up in the ghost of a smile. Cynthia couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for the cute sleepyhead. She smiled sleepily and laid back.

"I guess not."

"I'm going to head back to my place. Coming Brock?" said Ash after a minute, standing. Brock patted the keys in his pocket.

"Yeah, be nice to catch up."

"I'll meet you downstairs then," said Ash, walking into the bathroom. He splashed water on his face, staring at his reflection. It was good seeing everyone again, though he felt worn out. He had wondered if they might have forgotten him after he was away for so long, but his fears turned out to be empty. Thinking back to his old traveling companions he couldn't help but grin. They really had grown. _Especially_ the girls. Though it was nice to finally have height on them all. Finishing up quickly he came back out to find both girls asleep on the bed. Miranda was still lying on her back, her feet dangling off the edge of the bed, shoes on the floor in a small pile. Moving to the bed Ash flipped the light switch on the wall, darkening the room. Street light from the window allowed him so still see. He bent over and moved a lock of hair out of Miranda's face. "Sleep well, Mira." Suddenly he was aware of that fact that he was being watched. Cynthia was lying down on her side, looking at him with an expression he couldn't read. The light framed her figure sharply against the darkness.

"No goodnight kiss?" she said softly.

"She's not a little girl," he said quietly.

"I wasn't talking about for her..."

Ash swallowed nervously. Why was she looking at him like that? Panicking slightly he quickly went to the door.

"I'll turn the heat up a bit so you won't get cold," he said, fiddling with a dial on the wall before glancing back one last time. Cynthia was lying down with her back to him, waves and waves of long blond hair gleaming slightly in the light. Ash sighed inwardly; had he imagined it?

Cynthia heard the door click shut behind her but didn't move. Her hands were in front of her red face, eyes closed tightly. For the love of... what the hell was she _thinking?_


	3. Preliminary Revelations

**Somewhere north of Snowport**

* * *

_It's cold._

A lone woman shivered and drew her cloak closer to her body. Her soft breathing produced small clouds on the air which dissipated as they rose into the sky. Hugging herself under her cloak, she gazed at the sky which was lightly producing snow. Soft footsteps marked by the crisp crunch of freshly fallen snow brought the woman out of her thoughts; however, she continued to gaze at the sky, seemingly entranced by the falling snow.

"It's not good to stand outside for too long once the snow starts up, Young Lady," said a wizened voice. She turned to the source of the voice to find herself looking at an elderly man bundled up in a fluffy coat and leaning on a cane. He was giving her a cheerful smile and continued, "Why don't you come and warm up by the fire at my home." He looked at the sky then said, "It may look pretty now, but I've been around a long time and I can tell that it's going to get very unpleasant outside in a short while." Turning around, the old man began to walk off down the road. Not stopping, he called, "Follow me, Young Lady; I'll have my granddaughter make you something hot to drink."

The woman took one last look at the sky. Her blue, ice-like eyes seemed to mirror the nature around her. Then she turned and fell into step behind the old man.

"Grandfather, how many times do I have to tell you not to go for walks right before the weather is about to get bad!"

"Ahh, Sarah, will you forgive this old man for enjoying the beauties of nature?" the old man said, smiling at the young woman who was frowning at him with her hands on her hips. She hesitated for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, Sarah, we have a guest for the time being."

Sarah looked in the direction of the front door and saw that indeed there was another person standing there. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said hurriedly motioning for the guest to come further inside and closing the door behind her. "My name is Sarah, and this is my grandfather, Ernest," she said, bowing her head and motioning to her grandfather. The guest was silent for a moment then pushed back her hood, releasing a cascade of silvery hair. She bowed slightly then said,

"Thank you for taking me in. My name is Neliell. Please, call me Nel."

Five minutes later, Nel and her hosts were chatting around a knee high table situated in front of the fireplace which radiated pleasant warmth. Pausing to take a sip of her drink, Nel's gaze rested on a nearby window, through which she could see the snow falling hard and whipping around in the strong wind. Though she had been traveling in the area for nearly a month, the suddenness of the blizzards still surprised her. Returning her attention to Sarah, who was currently scolding her laughing grandfather, Nel smiled at the pair. Ernest drained his cup, then asked, "So Nel, I've been meaning to ask you, what are you doing all the way up here? Where you heading to?"

"Grandfather, it's none of our business and it's rude to pry," quipped Sarah, who gave Nel an apologetic look.

"No, it's fine. I don't mind telling you," said Nel. "Actually, maybe you could help me out a bit. I figured it was about time to ask for some directions anyway."

"In that case, where are you trying to get to?" asked Sarah.

"Well, I really wanted to go to the place that the big Pokemon tournament is being held. I've never been there before. But…" Nel stopped looking slightly embarrassed.

"So you're lost," Ernest said flatly. Nel nodded, at which Ernest began laughing again. Quickly stopping after Sarah began to raise her fist, Ernest continued, "Ah I'm sorry about that just now. I couldn't help it though because this place is quite far from where you what to get to. Unless you take a plane or one of those new fangled airships from somewhere big you're talking about miles and miles of roads, and sea to cross. The tournament has already started you know."

"Yes, I realize that there isn't much chance of me making it there before it ends, but the chance still exists just the same," Nel said determinedly.

"Don't worry about a thing, Nel, we'll help you out," said Sarah, "Or at least we'll point you in the right direction," she corrected herself with a sigh. "There isn't really anything we can do as far as transportation help, but directions yes."

Ernest, who had just gotten up to refill his cup, called from the kitchen, "Hey, you two, come here. It looks like the weather isn't bad enough to mess up the signal this time. There's a report of the tournament on right now."

Nel and Sarah quickly moved into the kitchen and joined Ernest in front of the TV positioned on the only wall devoid of cabinets. Images of various battles were being shown behind two people sitting at a counter. To the left was a woman who was listing some information while on the right a man wearing sunglasses and a bright blue shirt was listening, waiting for her to finish.

"Hahaha. Even on TV, Scott dresses like a tourist," said Ernest with a smile. The reporter now turned to Scott.

"So tell us, Scott, the tournament has only been underway for about a week, however it is such a massive event that we couldn't help but want as much information as possible. As the main organizer of this event, I was hoping that you could tell the world what your feelings about this tournament are so far. Has everything gone according to plan?"

Scott thought for a moment, and then said, "Well I suppose it's a yes-and-no kind of a thing." The reporter looked somewhat taken aback at this. Scott smiled and continued, "You see, I knew right from the beginning that there would be some things about this tournament that I wouldn't be happy about. To get right down to it, the only thing about this tournament that I am not happy about is the fact that because there are so many trainers competing, it is very easy to pass by unrecognized, especially during the preliminary rounds." Scott faced the screen, now speaking directly to the viewers.

"What I mean is that there will be trainers that compete and lose during this tournament who will not be truly recognized for their skill by the world at large. This is why I wanted to make sure to say to the world that every trainer in this tournament is _already_ officially considered elite in the world of Pokemon. I just want to make sure that those who are eliminated during any given round are known for making it to that round and not for failing to make it to the one above."

"But, now that I've said that, is there anything specific that you wanted me to comment on about the tournament so far?" asked Scott, smiling as if he had not just appealed directly to the soul of the Pokemon world.

"Ah, yes, I do," said the reporter quickly, regaining her composure. "First, I was wondering if you could give us your take on the various trainers that have been battling. Because the Preliminary rounds are the longest and it is the beginning of the tournament, what do you feel will determine victory for battles between such powerful trainers and their Pokemon?"

"In my opinion, the Preliminary rounds are easily the most challenging for any given trainer," said Scott. "Unlike the later rounds of a tournament where there is a long, challenging battle against a clear and known opponent, the Preliminary rounds are a series of short battles against many unknown opponents. Trainers who advance to the main tournament will be the ones who show how adaptable they are in various situations as well as their strength in facing the unknown. For example, one on one battles usually feature a trainer's strongest or near strongest Pokemon regardless of the situation, because you only get one chance in that battle. I know for a fact that if I was competing and my first opponent of the day throws out a Dragonite, I would definitely feel less confident than I had five seconds ago."

Scott took a breath then concluded, "Basically, the Preliminaries do their job excellently in preparing those who advance for what awaits."

"Well it looks like our time is up today, but I can assure you all that there will be many more of these in the very near future. My name is-"

Sarah shut the TV and leaned against the table. "You look pretty excited, Nel," she said.

"Oh I am. As soon as the weather improves I'll set off," Nel replied. "You both have been so kind to me. I wish there was some way that I could repay you..."

"... Actually..." Nel looked at Ernest in confusion. "One moment, please," he said and he left the kitchen. Nel and Sarah looked at each other and Nel could tell that Sarah didn't know what was going on either. They waited in silence for a few minutes when Ernest returned with a small envelope.

Ernest looked at Nel then said, "Nel, I would like to request your help with something. You are free to decline. Also, we do not want you to feel as if you owe us anything for sheltering you today. We were just doing what we wanted to." He smiled for a moment then continued, "You are traveling to Element City where the tournament is taking place as we speak, but I will tell you now that it is very far away." Ernest took a breath. "And so, because of that distance, I would like you to do us a favor. My grandson, Sarah's brother Corey, is competing in the tournament. If you happen to meet him then could you give him this letter?"

"Of course," said Nel. "What does he look like?"

"Actually, he's been gone from home for so long that any description of him would hinder you rather than help," apologized Ernest. "Most likely you won't meet him, but just in case you do..."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep an eye out," said Nel. The weather had died down as fast as it had started. It was time for her to leave.

Retrieving her cloak, Nel led the group outside into the road. The snow was only a few inches thick.

Standing in the middle of the road Nel turned to face her two new friends and said, "Okay, so which way do I go?"

Ernest scratched his chin then began, "Well, first you want to head south down this road for a while till you get to Snowport. Then you're going to have to get transportation to go further south. Once you do that-"

"Ah sorry," Nel interrupted, "but actually it would be best if you could just point straight to where Element City would be from here."

Baffled, Ernest and Sarah traded looks. "Well, Element Island is east of the Kanto region so I'd say, that way?" Sarah pointed southeast. "But there's no way I could be directly pointing at Element. You'll have to stop to keep checking."

"That won't be a problem, thanks!" Nel's free hand disappeared inside her cloak for a moment then appeared holding a small red and white ball. "Time to fly!" she cried and threw the pokeball.

xxx

Sarah watched Nel's figure shrink as she sped away on the back of her Pokemon. "Did she ever say that she was a Pokemon trainer?" She turned to face her grandfather, who was now walking back to the house.

"Nope."

* * *

**Meanwhile...Element City**

* * *

"Gah! I'm booooooored."

"Oh for crying out loud, if you're so bored then go train or eat or something ya damn monkey!"

"Hey guys, we're here! Oh wait, there's people missing."

"Brock! Thank god!" Misty looked like she was inches from snapping. She jerked her head at May and Max, who were arguing with each other loudly. Sighing, Brock walked over to the quarreling siblings and tapped them to get their attention. Misty sighed in relief. She knew that Brock would be able to calm them down. Dawn, who had arrived with Brock, looked at them questioningly.

"Don't ask," said Misty flatly, rubbing her head. Dawn giggled looking around.

"Sorry. Where is Miranda? Is she not here yet?" she asked Misty.

"Nope," she answered shortly. They both sat down with the rest of the group. They had decided to pick a different stadium each day and watch the Preliminary battles held there. When Ash had asked if they were going to come to see his battles he didn't look surprised at all when they told him their plan. On the contrary, it was the group that was surprised when Ash said that it was a good idea.

"It's just not as exciting without everyone from that party," May said suddenly at which Max countered,

"Well, it's not like we were all buddy-buddy with them in the first place so it's not surprising at all that it's just us hanging out."

"I'm still really glad that Scott was kind enough to invite us," said Dawn, at which the other two nodded their agreement.

"There you all are," said a voice. The group turned to find themselves face to face with Scott who was flanked by a few people dressed casually, but were obviously officials of some sort.

"Before you say anything, just know that it's a coincidence," he said quickly seeing the curious looks he was getting. "I passed Miranda a little while ago and she told me that you all were in here. Oh, she also told me to let you know that she has to go take care of something today and she'll see you all tomorrow."

"Thanks, Scott," said Brock, "but what are you doing here?" Scott and his group took seats in front of Brock. Turning back to face him, Scott explained,

"Well, because I'll be doing interviews and giving commentary for the tournament every other day, I'm watching the battles and keeping an eye out for anything interesting."

"I see," said Brock nodding.

"By the way," Scott said, now raising his voice slightly to get everyone's attention, "have any of you been to Ash's Prelims?"

They all shook their heads. "No, we're kinda doing this at random. Why?" asked May.

Scott grinned as he turned to face the trainers who were now taking their positions on the various battlefields.

"Well... they're interesting..."

* * *

"Scyther is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu! Victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

The people in the section of the stadium that was closest to his particular match cheered as Ash and Pikachu waved their thanks to the crowd. He left the arena and went back to the large waiting room where a large number of trainers waited to be called for their battles. Ash made to leave but stopped as he heard his name being called. He turned to find his recent opponent coming towards him.

"Ah, glad I caught up to you," he said slightly out of breath. He straightened himself then held out his hand which Ash shook. "Sorry, I just wanted to congratulate you. You are a very good trainer and your Pikachu is very strong." Ash looked at the slightly embarrassed boy with raised eyebrows. Seeing this, the boy said, "Actually, I used to be one of your fans before you disappeared and I guess I kind of lost faith in your abilities but-"

"Hahaha, don't worry about it," said Ash, finally understanding what was going on. "You aren't bad yourself at all you know. The way that you handle your Pokemon shows that you treat them well and train them hard. Though, one thing that could help you out a lot is trusting your gut a bit more than you do."

"My gut?"

"Well yeah, you know how when your in a situation and you have to act sometimes it's hard to choose what to do between the immediate response which may seem reckless, and the second or other choice that involves some actual thought. I know from experience that it isn't a good thing to just go with whatever comes to your mind all the time, but over thinking can be just as bad. There were a couple times in that battle that you hesitated and Pikachu took advantage of it." Ash pointed his thumb at the Pokemon on his shoulder who imitated it.

"Ah you're right, maybe I should try not to over think everything. Thank you, Ash." They shook hands again at which the boy sped off. Ash shook his head.

"Heh, I didn't even get his name. Oh well." Ash walked outside and stretched, yawning. Pikachu hopped off of his shoulder and ran off to a nearby fountain. Ash followed him to a familiar face.

"So I take it you won again?" said Miranda who was scratching a happy Pikachu behind his ears. Ash sat down next to her with another yawn.

"Yep, sure did. But aren't you supposed to be watching random people with the rest of the group?" he asked.

Miranda lowered her head guiltily. "Yeah you caught me. I told them I was busy today so I'd see them tomorrow."

Ash looked at her thoughtfully. "Do you not like them?" he asked. She stood up, Pikachu in her arms.

"It's not that I don't like them. They're just not you."

"I suppose. How about we go somewhere to eat lunch then. I'm starving." Miranda nodded.

"As long as there isn't a large crowd," she agreed, moving closer to him as they began to make their way away from the stadium. There were tons of people around. "I've been here for a while but I'm still not used to this... it makes me a bit nervous."

It was mid afternoon when they returned to Miranda's apartment. As a competitor, Ash was given a place to live much closer to the stadiums, however sometimes he found it hard to relax when he was there. Though Miranda's place was distinctly farther away, it looked and felt pleasantly lived in. Upon reaching the right floor, they found someone waiting for them by the door.

"Cynthia, what are you doing here?" Miranda asked curious. Cynthia gave a small start and looked up.

"Oh I was hoping I'd be able to catch you here, though it was a long shot I'll admit," she said happily. Miranda let them all into the apartment and Cynthia took a seat on the bed. "I don't have any contact information for either of you after all."

"There's a land line in this place," said Ash. "Do you ever use it, Miranda?"

"Of course not, who would I call?" she replied, now digging through a closet. "The number of this place is next to the phone though if you want it."

"Are you two... going somewhere?" asked Cynthia, taking down the number and returning to watching Ash and Miranda move about. The younger girl walked over to her dresser where she began rummaging around for something.

"Yeah, we're going to a spot that apparently no one knows about outside of town. Going to go let off some energy; get away from the crowds." Ash paused and glanced at Miranda who had just emerged from the dresser with a tight bundle of clothing. Making a decision he said to Cynthia, "Why don't you come with us."

"What?" said Miranda, surprised. "But aren't you in the middle of something?" Ash and Cynthia looked over at the girl who suddenly remembered how they had found Cynthia. "Oh, yeah I guess not."

Raising an eyebrow suspiciously, Cynthia nodded. "Sure, I'd like the break."

Ash walked into the kitchen and grabbed some fruit off of the table. "Cynthia, can you grab a blanket out of the closet?" he called over his shoulder.

"Uh, alright," she said, walking over to the closet. She found a spare blanket on a shelf. Ash and Miranda were waiting for her, not by the door, but in the center of the room.  
Joining them she asked, "Ready to go?"

"Let's go Ash," said Miranda. She gave Cynthia a look then sighed and said quickly, "You probably want to close you eyes."

"Close my eyes?" Cynthia asked confused. "Wait, what do you mea-" Cynthia was cut short by Ash who only said one word.

"Teleport."

* * *

Moments later the three found themselves surrounded by lush grass and soft hills. Ash and Miranda looked at Cynthia who had fallen back onto her butt the moment they had landed.

"Ah... teleport..." she said weakly, still recovering from the trip. "How did we get teleported here? Where exactly is here anyway?"

"Well, as to where, we are about a couple hours east of the city. Miranda found this place while exploring last month," Ash explained, walking over to Cynthia and helping her up. "As to how, well..." he motioned to a figure that Cynthia had not noticed until now. It was a Gardevoir. The Pokemon was looking directly into Cynthia's eyes and she found herself unable to look away, simply gazing right back into the pools of deep red. Ash continued, ignoring the staring contest, "Anyway, Gardevoir's the one who teleported us all over here. Taking others with her uses a lot more energy so be sure to thank her." Ash bent to pick up the blanket that Cynthia had dropped then unfolded it and held it up to screen Miranda who was changing quickly. "And you couldn't have done this before we left could you, we're not exactly on the road anymore," he said to the blanket. "Hurry up my arm is cramping."

"Drop it and I'll kill you," Miranda said cheerfully.

Ash shook his head tiredly but still tightened his grip on the blanket. Watching them, Cynthia realized that she had stopped looking into the Gardevoir's eyes at some point. "Umm, sorry about that. Thanks for bringing me here as well," Cynthia said, noticing that the Gardevoir was still looking at her. It blinked twice then lowered its head ever so slightly in the shadow of a nod, which made Cynthia wonder if she had just imagined it.

_"You are welcome."_

"Ghaa!" Cynthia looked around quickly for the source of the voice that had resonated in her head, however she already knew where it had come from. Cynthia automatically took a step back and tripped only to stop midway through her fall, held by an invisible force.

"Oh nice catch, Gardevoir," said Ash, coming over to the two of them as Cynthia was placed back on her feet. Gardevoir moved slightly closer to Cynthia.

_"I apologize for startling you,"_ Cynthia heard in her mind.

"Not at all," said Cynthia automatically.

"Why don't we all sit down before you fall down again," said Ash. They walked over to the blanket which was now spread on a fairly flat piece of ground. Miranda was laying on her back hands behind her head, looking at the cloudless sky and smiling happily. Ash couldn't help but smile too. It had been quite a while since the last time Miranda got to do something like this wearing her tribe's clothing. Miranda sat up as the other three made themselves comfortable.

"Miranda those cloths are really nice, where are they from?" Miranda stood up so that Cynthia could see them better. They were not flashy or made of expensive material. They were nothing like the outfit that she wore before she left the village, which she remembered Ash calling something like a tribal bathing suit, but they still exposed almost all of her tattoos which was the reason that she didn't wear it in public. Starting at her feet, Miranda was wearing sandals that tied around her ankles. Next was a durable looking skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. Her top was a close fitting sleeveless shirt that came just short of her bellybutton. As she turned around, Cynthia noticed that a portion of the back of the top was cut away, though it was mostly covered by her long brown hair.

"I should apologize," said Miranda softly, finally taking a seat. "When we first met, you wanted to know if I was a descendent of the Eon Tribe and I said I wasn't sure. I'm not that comfortable talking about it with strangers, so I wasn't truthful. Sorry," she finished, head bowed.

"So that means you are a descendent of the Eon Tribe?" said Cynthia. "I guess that would make what you're wearing their garb?" Ash watched the exchange with interest. It was unusual for Miranda to be so open with someone she just met.

"Well sort of. This is a slightly modified version of what was worn during the colder months of the year. It's modified because I've had the sleeves removed." Cynthia sat silent for a moment then smiled.

"That also means you don't consider me a stranger." Miranda looked up, a smile making its way onto her face.

"No, I suppose I don't," she said cheerfully. Ash just rolled his eyes. In what fantasy were friendships actually started like this. Miranda, sat back down and scooped something into her lap. It was her pokeballs. Cynthia wasn't surprised to see them at all; she had figured that Miranda was a Pokemon trainer to begin with.

"I have eight Pokemon with me," said Miranda. She expertly held one pokeball between each of her fingers and showed Cynthia all eight. "Ash told me a while ago that Pokemon trainers are only allowed to carry six at any one time but I absolutely refuse to carry any six without the other two so in a way I guess you could say that I'm not really a Pokemon trainer. Well, not officially." She laughed then said, "So, care to guess what they are?" This time it was Cynthia who laughed.

"I have an idea but I think I'll wait to see them in person to be sure," she replied.

"Thought so. Well then, time for some fresh air!" Miranda threw all eight pokeballs up into the air releasing eight adorable Pokemon. Cynthia looked at the scene in wonder. It wasn't every day that a person was able to see the entire Eevee family all in one spot. Not to mention with a trainer who was had a tattoo representing each one.

"Look at that, Tribal Girl, you really do have every one of them," said Cynthia jokingly.

_"I'll admit, I did not see that one coming either,"_ came Gardevoir's voice. At this, Ash began to laugh so hard that he fell over. Miranda and Cynthia watched him blankly as his laughter subsided.

"What?" he said defensively at their looks. "Oh come on, that was really funny." They stared at him uncomprehending. "Gardevoir are known as Pokemon that can see the future, and she said that she didn't see it coming and- for cryin' out loud you two, Gardevoir just told a joke!" Ash stopped when Gardevoir placed her hand on his shoulder, leaning against him momentarily, in a sign of affection.

_"Do not let it agitate you,"_ came her voice. Ash looked at the two females in front of him sitting in a sea of Pokemon and talking intently.

_"Did you not wish to train today?"_ Gardevoir's voice was directed only at him and he knew it. Ash leaned back and closed his eyes. He could hear Cynthia asking Miranda questions about her ancient culture and Pokemon. For once, Miranda wasn't shying away from the questions and was actually very engaged. Ash smiled. It was nice to have girls around for Miranda to talk to. Gardevoir tapped his head lightly, reminding him of her question.

"I did, but this place is too nice to train in," he said softly. "I don't want to mess up somewhere she feels is special, anyway." Ash fell silent for a minute then added, "I'm going to take a nap for now. Pikachu ran off somewhere when we first got here and he isn't nearby, so could I ask you to find him for me and make sure he gets back here alright?"

_"As you wish." _

"In a few days, the real battles begin_._" Ash raised his hand in front of his face and clenched it. "And this time it's different!"


	4. Round 1: Hyperbeam Anybody?

_Ash leaned against the wall of the corridor that led to the arena, enjoying the last few moments of relative peace before going out to the battlefield. He could hear the crowd quite clearly even though he was still a ways from the opening. He sighed softly. Having been away from such immense crowds of cheering people for so long was making him slightly nervous, but he knew that once he was out there he would be fine. Closing his eyes, Ash read the aura coming from all around him. After doing it so much during his training, reading the aura of his surroundings was now as second nature as breathing. Even if he couldn't hear the crowd, he could feel the presence of tens of thousands of people._

_"Let's go Pikachu!"_

_"Pi-ka!"_

* * *

_**BOOM!**_

The explosion practically rocked the stadium. A huge roar went up across the stands. Ash, who was currently enveloped in the dust cloud from the blast, smirked to himself at the crowd.

"I swear, they only cheer like that when something happens that makes it so they can't see anything," Ash said calmly. From the other end of the field, Ash could hear his opponent wasting no time waiting for visibility to return.

"Grrrr! It doesn't matter if we can't see it! Tyranitar, Sandstorm! Let's go!" At this the dust began to get drawn into the center of the field creating a huge twister. The wind force was incredible. Within a few seconds, the dust cloud had been completely absorbed by the twister that was now rising into the sky, dissipating. Ash glanced to his side and smiled seeing that Gardevoir was completely unharmed.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to catch _her_ off guard," Ash said, pointing at Gardevoir with his thumb. His opponent, a trainer nicknamed Spike, was frustrated beyond measure. By teleporting all over the arena, Gardevoir easily avoided almost any attack directed at her. It would take a cool head and good planning to put her in a situation, both of which his opponent was lacking. Big time. They were currently both on their second Pokemon. Spike's first Pokemon had been a Steelix, a difficult opponent for Pikachu. Steelix was able to use the rocky arena well and put Pikachu at a complete disadvantage. Though Ash may have been able to manage a win in an easier League competition, the fact of the matter here was that unless a tiny Pokemon held a type advantage over an opposing huge Pokemon, chances of victory were slim to none.

As if predicting Ash's situation, the first round rules did not allow for substitutions. And so Ash and Pikachu did everything they could to weaken the Steelix, who's defense was one of the best Ash had ever seen. The moment when Pikachu had finally fallen, Ash felt the faintest worry begin to form in the back of his head. The crowd was largely cheering for Spike who was looking good with the first win practically handed to him. That had been total luck and Ash was now able to use a different Pokemon.

"You okay, buddy?" Ash asked Pikachu as he placed the completely worn out Pokemon off to the side and safely out of the way of any potential flying debris.

"Chu..." Pikachu said tiredly. Ash patted his head softly.

"Great job wearing him out, Pikachu. You just rest now," said Ash. He walked back to his centered position at the edge of the battlefield. Steelix stared down at him as he took his place. The sound of laughter from behind Steelix drew Ash's eyes to his opponent.

"I hope your next Pokemon will put up more of a fight than that mouse of yours did," Spike said arrogantly. "This _is_ the IRC, you know."

Ash was silent. Choosing a pokeball from his belt, he threw it into the air and said two words.

"Crush him."

Before the empty pokeball had returned to his hand, the entire stadium rippled with shock by what they had just witnessed. Steelix was unconscious. Not only that, Steelix was flat on the ground, pressed several feet into the rocky arena floor, as if he had just been stepped on by a giant.

"St-Steelix is unable to battle! Gardevoir wins!" shouted the judge, who was also taken aback by the sudden attack. Gardevoir came to rest hovering inches the ground at Ash's side, eyes locked on her opponent. Spike's arrogant grin was wiped from his face instantly, replaced by a look of shock.

"What's wrong?" asked Ash coolly, giving Spike a level look. "This _is_ the IRC, you know."

...And that had brought them to where they were now.

Apart from that one moment where he had lost control, Ash was staying very level-headed while he battled. As the fight became more and more drawn out, he began to get bored. Due to how the past years had worked out, it had been a long time since he had actually had fun during a battle.

Tyranitar suddenly faltered on the uneven ground and lost its balance. It stood back up but it was clear that the Pokemon was worn out from moving around constantly and vigorously for so long. Ash grinned. His plan had worked perfectly.

"Alright, Gardevoir, Energy Ball!" Ash cried. Gardevoir came to a stop in front of him and began quickly charging a shining sphere of green.

"As if I would let you!" Spike shouted, voice thick with anger. "Hyperbeam!" Spike roared. Tyranitar let loose a raging beam of white straight at Gardevoir and, because of where Gardevoir was standing, consequently Ash as well.

The screams and shouts from the stands were nothing in Ash's ears. In a moment that strangely seemed to last much much longer, all eyes watched as the beam closed the gap to the Pokemon and her trainer. Making up his mind in an instant, Ash directed a single thought to Gardevoir before taking action. The suddenness of the hyperbeam had left no time to dodge it, at least in his case.

Gardevoir skillfully maneuvered forward, dodging the beam by mere centimeters, and continued her attack. The energy ball had grown in size and intensity. Unable to move because it had just finished the Hyperbeam, Tyranitar was unable to defend against the attack and was instantly defeated. Yet despite being a display of amazing skill, not a single pair of eyes was even watching. The entire stadium, including the now horrified Spike, were staring at the explosion that had happened when the Hyperbeam had met and practically engulfed Ash.

The stadium was in chaos. At least, that's what the aura was telling him. Ash opened his eyes slowly and took in his surroundings. He was in a cloud of dust, but a strange one. Though he could see it swirling around him, he didn't feel any dust in the air. It was then that he noticed that he was within a small bubble like barrier. It was extremely thin, but it gave him about a foot of dustless air all around him.

_'That Pokemon... I knew I'd be alright, but she went and protected me a bit anyway. Well considering her nature, it's not like she would have listened in the first place... Ah, dammit!'_

Ash had just looked down at his clothes, which he now saw were in tatters. Luckily, his pants didn't have any holes in the wrong places, but his shirt was torn badly. On top of that, because he had crossed his arms to cover his face on instinct, the sleeves of his shirt were totally gone. Little bits of material were floating around in the wind. And his hat...!

Ash put his hand on top of his head and felt his unkempt hair. He groaned. Hopefully the hat hadn't been destroyed. As the screams suddenly escalated, Ash had a fleeting thought of his hat emerging from the dust alone without its owner and sighed. What a fiasco...

The dust was finally settling and Ash could start to make out the colorful stands. Wincing in pain, he stood up as a light gust of wind filled the arena, pushing the lingering cloud away from the battlefield. The stadium roared its relief and excitement when Ash emerged standing. Still recovering, he swayed slightly from the sudden sound, but a soft, green hand on his arm steadied him.

"Ahh thanks, Gardevoir," he said, grinning. A number of medics who had just arrived rushed over to Ash. "I'm fine," he said, before any one of them could get a word in edgewise. Turning to the judge Ash continued, "I'd like to keep battling, so let's continue." The judge held up his hand indicating for Ash to wait a moment. He was currently communicating with someone through his headset. He nodded then turned to face the stands.

"The battle will continue!" A roar met the judges words. Ash looked over as Spike and smiled.

"Shall we continue?"

XxxxX

The door of the hospital room burst open, making everyone in the room jump.

"Wait! Young lady, I told you, you can't go in there!" A lanky but surprisingly strong doctor grabbed Miranda, preventing her from going any further into the room. Ash made to sit up, but the nurse that was keeping an eye on him pushed him back onto the bed with a dangerous look. Defeated, Ash looked back at Miranda who was now glaring furiously at the frustrated doctor.

_"Let. Me. Go."_ Miranda growled, her teeth bared as if she would use them if he didn't. Before Ash could say anything however, his current visitor placed a hand on Miranda's shoulder and said to the doctor,

"It's quite all right, Doctor. I'll keep an eye on her so you don't have to think about it." Cynthia had finally stepped in before Miranda did anything reckless. She glanced at Cynthia before continuing her fierce gaze at the doctor.

"W-well, If you say so," the doctor said giving Miranda one last suspicious look. "However, this is the last visitor that I will allow! I don't care if it's the Commissioner himself!" At this the doctor left, closing the door behind him with a snap. The nurse sighed and stood up.

"Well, I'll make my exit as well. Ash, you'll be fine so long as you stop trying to get out of that bed and actually rest for a little while," she said as she walked to the door. Reaching the door, she turned and said to Miranda, "Just try to keep the energy to a minimum, alright? He's had a lot of visitors already."

Cynthia's smile vanished as soon as the door clicked shut. She rounded on Miranda, determined to fix the girl's behavior, though what ever she had planned on saying she forgot immediately.

_**WHAM!**_

"Dammit, Ash!" Miranda shouted. Another punch was absorbed by the pillow Ash was blocking with.. "You idiot! Why would you do something like that?" Ash avoided her gaze.

"Whatever happened to keeping the energy level to a minimum?" he said dryly. Miranda scowled, lowering her voice to normal levels.

"You didn't need to take that kind of a risk! I know that Gardevoir could have gotten you out of that situation. And you still haven't fully recovered from the past few months! You're supposed to be taking it _easy._"

"I wanted to make a statement," Ash said, meeting Miranda's eyes. He caught her hand before she could attack him again. "Let me explain," he said. Taking advantage of her silence Ash said, "I wanted everyone to know that using a trick like that won't always work. Everyone would naturally think that the Pokemon would take the hit to protect the trainer, but by taking that hit I think that no one will be willing to try it. In that way, it helped that it was a Hyperbeam."

"Well, though I still don't completely agree with the method, it is pretty noble of you to take a hit for the tournament," said Cynthia.

"Pretty _noble_? Are you serious?" Miranda said, voice raising rapidly with her temper. She didn't move from her position on the edge of the hospital bed, but Cynthia felt as if Miranda was squaring off to her face to face. "I can't believe you! He got really hurt and all you say is that he was being noble?" Cynthia looked shocked by Miranda's words.

"No," she retorted raising her voice as well, "that's not what I said! I meant-" but Miranda cut her off.

"Did you just come here to tell him he did a good job or something?"

"Wha-" Now Cynthia was getting mad. "Don't be ridiculous! Why are you freaking out so much, he's not going to die from something like that!" Ash tried to say something but he was overridden immediately.

"Arghh, just get out!" Ash and Cynthia stared at her astonished. Miranda was completely red faced.

"But-"

"I said leave! This room is for people who care about his well being, not his... his nobility or- or-" Miranda's voice died off in a stutter leaving the room silent for a long time until Cynthia turned abruptly and walked out, closing the door behind her sharply.

Cynthia stood with her back to the door, unmoving, breathing very deeply. The nerve of that girl! A few people passed her with questioning looks but after a minute she was alone in the hall. No sound came from within the room. The rooms in hospitals were well constructed with privacy in mind. Miranda had accused her of only being concerned with Ash's accomplishments, his "noble acts". Certainly, Cynthia cared about Ash doing well, but it went much deeper than that. It made her more mad than she could remember being for a long time. What was really making her upset now though was the fact that she had stormed out of the room like she was Miranda's age. At twenty-five Cynthia felt she had no excuse.

_'Damn girl! Of course I care about his well being, I was the first one here!'_

Indeed, while Ash had been relocated to the local hospital, she had been as close to the vehicle as humanly possible without actually being in the thing. Seeing him get hit with the attack had practically made her heart stop. It was just so... life had never seemed so complicated before. Years ago, Ash was an aspiring trainer and a friend who she knew had a good heart and a bright personality, if a little childish and naive at times. Now he looked like the young man he was, his eyes sometimes seeming to reflect an age beyond his years. He even had a good inch on her in height now and she wasn't exactly short to begin with! It was almost jarring the first time she saw him at the party. Just thinking about his changes were maddening.

Cynthia grumbled slightly. Whenever she was faced with a problem she looked it straight on and dealt with it. Yet since the start of the tournament things had been making her more confused than she could ever remember being in her life. She just wasn't sure of how to deal with it all, and who ever saw the Champion ask someone for help about anything?

"Oh, is something the matter, Champion?"

Cynthia gave a start and turned to see two nurses looking at her with concern. How long had they been there?

"Ah, no I'm fine. I was just leaving. Have a good day," she said regaining her composure. Turning on the women, Cynthia made her way out of the hospital, pushing the troubling thoughts out of her mind.

XxxxX

"Miranda, that was unfair and you know it."

"...yeah...I...sorry." Miranda sat on the edge of the bed with her back to Ash. She was staring at the back of her hand while she traced one of the tattoos on it. After Cynthia had left, the room was silent for a long time. Ash didn't want to say the wrong thing, but he knew he couldn't let this slide. Miranda and Cynthia had become good friends since the outing they had had a few days ago. Though Cynthia was many years older than Miranda, who was only nineteen, she was really the first female that Miranda had looked so comfortable being around ever since he had first met her in her home. He didn't want to see that friendship fail.

"Miranda-" Ash started, but was interrupted by Miranda.

"I'm sorry alright?" she snapped glancing at him over her shoulder. Ash fell silent. "Ahhhh." Miranda drew her legs up to her chest and put her forehead to her knees. "Now I'm shouting at you even though you didn't do anything." She turned her head so that she could see him out of one eye. "When I saw you get hit, I didn't know what to do. You are strong, but you were still recovering; you have Gardevoir but she didn't block the attack; I wanted to make sure you were okay but I couldn't reach you. I thought you might have... I mean I know you couldn't have from something like that but still I..." She stopped speaking and Ash saw that she was crying. Seeing this, Ash began to sit up fully. However, Miranda moved very quickly from her position directly at Ash. Before he knew what had happened, he was on his back again staring straight up into Miranda's face. She was pinning his shoulders against the bed with her hands and her knees were on either side of his waist.

"It took me too long to get down to the arena entrance where the medics where. You had already been taken away to a hospital to be treated, but none of the people would tell me where you had gone. It took so long to find you..." Ash didn't move; he just listened. "That whole time I was running all over the place because I still don't know the city very well at all, I was scared of what I would find when I did get to you." Miranda squeezed her eyes shut then opened them. A few tears fell onto Ash's face.

"Miranda," said Ash, brushing a tear from her face, "I'm not going anywhere."

"It's not about you going places, its about me coming with you," came her soft voice.

"One moment together is more meaningful than a lifetime apart," said Ash after a minute.

Pushing herself up slightly so that she could meet his eyes, Miranda said dryly, "Oh? And what person came up with that nugget of wisdom?"

"Your sister, Luna." Miranda fell silent, staring into Ash's eyes, as if trying to glean their secrets.

"I don't have a sister anymore, remember? I'm no longer a member of the village," said Miranda softly, breaking the staring contest. She looked at the window, not really seeing it.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to bring up unpleasant memories," Ash said. Miranda shook her head slightly and met Ash's eyes again.

"Don't apologize, I know you're trying to cheer me up." Miranda smiled, slowly moving her face closer to his. She continued in a voice barely above a whisper, "Plus, it's not like they are all bad memories." Ash was frozen in place from her proximity. It wasn't like they'd never been in close quarters before but this was a little... He swallowed perceptibly. Their faces were a centimeter apart when the door opened, revealing an energetic new visitor.

"Hey Ash, are you doing alright- well looks like you're busy, catch ya later."

Miranda quickly relocated herself to standing at the window, determinedly looking out of it, face bright red. Moments later, opened calmly, revealing the nurse that was taking care of Ash and the intruder from a moment ago: Brock. While the nurse looked suspiciously from Ash to Miranda, it was the third intruder, who's yellow face suddenly appeared over Brock's right shoulder, that broke the atmosphere.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu leaped off of Brock's shoulder, aiming for Ash. He landed squarely on Ash's chest, causing him to wince though he was grinning all the while.

"Girl, do you remember me saying something about him needing rest?" said the nurse, walking over to the bed and rolling her eyes. She sighed and said tiredly, "This isn't what I meant by rest." Miranda just shook her head and did her best to sink into the floor.

Turning to Ash, the nurse said, "Anyway, Ash, sit up and take off your shirt. Let's see how you're doing now. Don't be a baby, it would have come of anyway am I right?" Glancing at Miranda, if anything she probably lost consciousness right there. Evil teasing nurse.

Doing his best not to justify a single thing the nurse was teasing him about, Ash sat so that he was facing Brock who had taken a seat in the chair. "Nice of you to drop by," Ash said coolly.

"Yeah, I was going to come visit earlier, but I figured that it would be better if I came when it was quieter. Hey, don't give me that look!" Brock said quickly, "They only let me come visit because the nurse was going to check up on you anyway. It's a coincidence, I swear!" He held up his hands in innocence. Ash shrugged his shoulders after a second.

"Meh, don't worry about it," he said shortly. "I needed to talk to you anyway so this works out. Did you get any good info?" Ash absently raised his arms above his head as the nurse tapped them. Brock nodded, frowning.

"Yeah, I do have some stuff that you should know, but before that..." Brock paused, thinking for a second. "Did something happen with Cynthia earlier?" Miranda seemed to deflate even more. "I bumped into her a little before I came here. She looked somewhat off, but when I asked her what was wrong she said it was nothing and kept walking."

"Well," started Miranda, still facing the window, "We had an argument earlier- No, I mean, actually I shouted a lot of bad things at her that I really shouldn't have. I need to apologize to her about that," Miranda finished, staring at the floor.

"Oh, well I'm sure it'll be alright," Brock said with a shrug. "You two looked like you hit it off pretty well and Cynthia isn't one to hold a grudge."

"Thanks, Brock," said Miranda.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just need to say something before I go," the nurse interjected swiftly. Miranda nodded, not wanting to get on the woman's bad side any more. "Ash, you should be perfectly fine by tomorrow morning, Lord knows how, but I guess youth wins again." She chuckled and continued, "Anyway, if anything comes up don't hesitate to give us a call on the intercom."

"Thank you very much," said Ash. The nurse nodded to the others and left, closing the door behind her quietly. Ash sighed in relief. "Well, now I don't think that there will be any more unannounced guests.

Brock turned to face them, grinning at Ash and Pikachu. "Yeah," he said, "So are you going to listen to this old guy give you the info you asked for or what?"

"Right, right, let's see this bracket thing you were telling me about," said Ash. Brock moved over to his backpack, which he had placed beside the chair, and pulled out a thick wad of heavy paper. "Any trainers in particular that I should hope get sick or something?" Brock spread out the huge paper on the floor. Finally getting it flat he said,

"Well, I wouldn't really call it a bracket, but I guess that works for all intensive purposes." The three of them sat around the diagram. "I know you have questions, but just look at the results first before you ask. You'll understand why in a minute."

Ash began to read the names of the matches, frowning slightly as he focused. The names for each of the matches were written around the perimeter of the entire square. The lines that lead from the winners stopped abruptly only an inch from where they started. In fact, the most notable part of the whole thing was the fact that with the exception of the edge, the rest of the paper was practically blank. Finally regaining her composure, Miranda joined them, face still somewhat red though.

"Brock, why is it so blank? You can't tell the shape of the tournament with it like this at all," Miranda asked Brock in confusion. He looked up from the diagram and said,

"That's exactly the toughest aspect of this tournament." Brock pointed at the large empty space. "This tournament doesn't only randomly select who will battle who. Much of the rules for the battles are also done at random. For all we know, the next round could be a two on two battle instead of a single battle. Even info on trainers' Pokemon is completely withheld."

"No way..."

Brock and Miranda both looked at Ash. The shock on his face was quite plain.

"Brock, is this all correct? No, forget I said that. You wouldn't make a mistake on something like this," Ash said giving Brock an apologetic look.

"I could have just told you this, but seeing it all at once really helps make the situation clear," he explained.

"What is it, Ash?" asked Miranda.

"Well, looking at this, even though there is still another two days for the first round..." he broke off into silence for a few seconds then shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "Sorry, I lost my train of thought for a bit there. Anyway, getting right to it, well over half the gym leaders and Elite Four members have lost." Ash was looking at Miranda with a serious look as he said this; Miranda however was completely nonplussed.

"...and that's big news...how?" she said, clearly unimpressed. Ash stared at her blankly. "Look, I may not have had the most modern upbringing, but I'm not ignorant. I can understand the Elite Four being worth note here, but haven't _all_ the gym leaders already lost to practically _everyone_ who is competing at some point in the past?" Miranda was giving Ash a look that clearly was telling him to get smarter.

"Well, when you put it that way..." Brock said thoughtfully. Miranda smiled and nodded triumphantly. "But, you should know Miranda that gym leaders are just as much Pokemon trainers as their challengers. They train, learn, and grow stronger all the time. In fact, you could definitely say that gym leaders battle at least as much as traveling Pokemon trainers, seeing as how gyms are challenged on average about once a day. I would know. I used to be a gym leader myself."

_'Thank you, Brock.'_ Ash gave Brock a grateful pat on the shoulder and said to Miranda, "So you see, I need to be careful. It's true that I battled them all before, but that was so long ago that it would be really bad if I tried to rely on any info I have of them already. And it just goes to show that all the gym leaders that did make it through are going to be tough to handle."

Miranda shrugged and said, "I guess you make a good point." Now looking at the paper, she asked, "What about the Battle Frontier people? Did they all win?"

Brock pointed to a couple of names and said, "Well, the five that have had battles already have all won. Brandon and Anabel both have their battles tomorrow."

"I'm definitely going to watch those two battle," said Ash energetically. "Who knows how tough they've gotten after all these years. Brandon especially. He's a fierce opponent, even without his Pokemon." He looked out the window into the evening sky.

_'This is better than I could have hoped for. The stronger the opponents, the harder the crowd will cheer when I beat them. No matter what, I will win this!'_

"Ash...? Hey, Ash?"

"Don't bother, Brock. Whenever he spaces out like that it's too much trouble to get his attention. Anyway, he's probably just reaffirming his beliefs or something like tha-"

Ash threw his pillow at her.

* * *

XxxxX

"It's been a long day of battling in Element City, and now I'm here once again with Scott, Chairman of the PTO, who I hope will share much with us tonight."

Scott- "It's good to be here, Tania; thanks very much."

Tania- "Well, I must say, today was very eventful. I know that many of our viewers are eager to hear what you have to say on the main incident, but before we address that, why don't you tell us what you think of the battles so far. Have they been everything you hoped they could be?"

Scott- "That and more, Tania. I've said it again and again. This tournament is clearly becoming the stage for some of the most incredible Pokemon battles I'm sure anyone has ever seen in their life. Every trainer in the world has a unique battle style that develops after countless battles. Now, we are able to see the best of the best clash on a global scale. It's exciting just thinking about it."

Tania- "On a different note, a good portion of the Gym Leaders and even some Elite Four members have been defeated during this round. There has been some chatter that many of the Gym Leaders should not really have been entered in the first place as they are not at the "top" of the Pokemon Leagues. What is your response to that?"

Scott- "A good point and I'm glad you brought it up. It is easy to picture Gym Leaders as "less than the best" because first, many of them must be defeated by a trainer for entry into the League Conference, and second, because many many trainers do compete in the Conferences. One would think that Gym Leaders cannot be among the best because they are beaten so many times. But this cannot be further from the truth. You see, in looking at the Conferences from the past few years, there is a definite increase in the number of trainers that register to take the gym challenge." Taking a breath he continued.

"You also have to understand that for every one trainer that wins a gym battle there are dozens who do not. Also, from the battles at the Conferences, we can see that trainers are getting better overall. The Gym Leaders, who become the wall that all must overcome, consistently get better after being challenged by so many diverse trainers. This pushes that wall even higher, building stronger trainers, who build stronger Gym Leaders."

Tania- "A cycle of growth, then."

Scott- "Precisely. And, when considering the fact that a number of Gym Leaders won their first round battles in very dominating fashions, it shows that potential and skill cannot be measured simply by position."

Tania- "Well put, Scott. Surely a proper reminder to all trainers out there. Now finally, I'd like to discuss the incident that occurred around noon today in the main stadium...

xxx

"Damn, did you see that?"

"That trainer got blasted. Full power!"

"Yeah but he was standing, just like some hero out of a movie."

"I know, he looked so cool!"

"Hmmm. I don't know why, but that somehow looks familiar..." Nel said to herself, absently avoiding the excited kids who were running around after watching the TV in the shop window. The news report had shown multiple images of the battle while it was discussed. Ash's face popped up a few times before the report ended. Nel had stared at the screen in wonder.

"So strange, he looks like someone I know. Or at least, someone I think I know... Ah I can't remember at all." Confused she scratched her head, causing her loose braid to come undone again. She sighed and looked at the sky. It was going to get late soon and she needed to find a place to stay, but with Salamance resting in his pokeball from flying so much and tall buildings surrounding her, Nel felt at a loss of what to do. She hadn't come to cities like this in over a couple years after all. Saffron City was so large... A large rumble from her middle made her look down at her belly. "I'm hungry."


	5. Fixing the Past and Breaking the Future

"So, strong enough for you?"

"...Well, if I had to say anything right now, it's that I'm sure as hell glad that _I'm_ not her opponent." Brock and Max nodded in unison, not looking away from the battle that was currently going on.

Anabel's battle had started only a few minutes ago and already she was in total control. The atmosphere of the entire stadium had shifted predictably.

_'I know that Anabel is able to communicate with her Pokemon on a mental level, but this kind of synchronization is kind of ridiculous,'_ Ash thought. He was noting how fast Anabel's Pokemon were able to react to incoming attacks, dodging them and counterattacking in such a way; it was as if she knew what her opponent was going to before he could say it. It was all too clear how this battle was going to end. Anabel's Espeon, to Miranda's delight, was her leading Pokemon. After ripping through both a Pincer and Ariados, it finally fell from exhaustion against the opponent's Exeggutor. Now, the arrival of Anabel's Metagross ended all hope of a win for her opponent. Ash sighed.

_'I really do feel bad for that trainer.'_

"Exeggutor is unable to battle! The winner is Metagross! Victory goes to Anabel!"

"And that's that," said Miranda. She stood up and grabbed Ash's sleeve, tugging it. "Come on, we're gonna go congratulate her!"

Ash looked over at Brock and Max, eyebrows raised. Max shrugged. Brock said, "Don't worry, there's still plenty of time until Brandon's battle. We'll save your seats."

It didn't take long for them to locate Anabel. She was sitting on a bench near the entrance to the waiting room. Noticing their approach, she stood up and waved.

"Nice battle," said Ash, holding out his hand. She smacked it in a friendly high-five.

"Thanks, but he was a pushover. The moment he lost control, he started battling like a little kid, even though he had a type advantage," Anabel said cheerfully. Her eyes shifted to Miranda, who was staring at her, clearly bursting to say something. "What?" said Anabel, her voice distinctly missing some of its cheer. Ash frowned at her tone, but also turned to face Miranda.

"Well, uhh... I mean, congratulations on winning your battle," said Miranda awkwardly.

"Oh, uhh thanks," said Anabel, equally awkward. She glanced at Ash, her eyes asking him for help. Now looking at her, Ash could tell that Miranda didn't exactly know how to say what she wanted to say. Having been with her for so long, he knew that it could only be one thing. He put his hand on Miranda's shoulder and said to Anabel,

"I think that Miranda would really like to meet your Espeon."

"Wait, that's it?" Anabel was slightly taken aback by the underwhelming request. Miranda nodded. Anabel put her hand to her forehead, suppressing a laugh. "Yeah, alright, I'll introduce you two. But before that, can we get something to eat? I'm starving."

Twenty minutes later, they were seated around a window table in a diner. Ash and Anabel occupied opposite window seats while Miranda sat next to Ash. Mildly amused, Anabel watched as Miranda unabashedly held a full conversation with her Espeon. True, it took Anabel most of the meal to get used to it, however what astonished her more than anything was her Espeon, who was extremely interested in Miranda; more so than with any other person Anabel had ever seen before.

Ignoring them, Ash noticed Anabel's expression and said, "Well, you got used to that pretty fast. The last time this happened, the trainer pretty much grabbed his Pokemon and made a quick exit."

"I guess it's not so strange to me because I talk to them too," Anabel said, still watching the pair. She turned to Ash and continued, "Well, that and the fact that I understand both sides of the conversation."

"Yeah I suppose you have a point there. The only one I understand is Espeon," joked Ash. Espeon gave Ash a glare, but did nothing further when Miranda quickly whispered something into her ear. Espeon shook her head then returned to talking with Miranda, who gave Ash a quick apologetic grin before doing the same.

Anabel was looking at Espeon with surprise again. Though she hadn't made a sound at Ash, the thought was clear to her. _'Pay Her proper respect.'_ The meaning behind that thought was making her head hurt.

"Anyway, Anabel, I've been meaning to ask you, how has the Battle Frontier been going these past few years?" Ash asked. Anabel pushed Miranda and Espeon to the back of her mind and crossed her arms on the table, resting her head on them.

"Nothing much has changed really," she paused and glanced at Ash then amended, "Well, if you mean since you challenged the Battle Frontier, then yeah things have definitely changed since then. Where should I start..." Anabel sat back in her seat, lost in thought.

"I guess the biggest change is the amount of trainers that challenge the Battle Frontier. It's gone up tremendously over time. You see, back when you challenged it, the Battle Frontier was still relatively fresh. It was popular, yeah, but at the time it was still one of those things that you really had to be completely set on doing for the sake of doing it. It's not like there is some type of conference at the end like the different Leagues have, so there's less recognition for it. Anyway, after you left for the Sinnoh region, we all came together and had a discussion about general things like how we run our facilities, how we train, that sort of stuff." Anabel noticed that Miranda and Espeon had stopped talking and were now listening to her as well.

"What ended up happening was that we got together more and trained together, which is something we never actually did before. It ended up working out really well. We all started getting really strong and suddenly, the Battle Frontier wasn't just something that people did in their spare time. It was something that you could get a good reputation for beating. I guess this was around the time that you vanished."

Ash frowned at Anabel's last words. True, he had gotten over his defeat after some time, but he still didn't like to think about it if he could. Plus it wasn't like he ran away. Seeing Anabel's expression, he quickly grinned and said, "Don't worry about it. Please, continue."

"Ah, right," said Anabel. "Right anyway, the Battle Frontier Brains finally found their place in the public's eyes as being better than Gym Leaders, but not as good as the Elite Four. So we got a lot of trainers who had finished with their League Conferences challenging us for various reasons. Of course, with so much battling and the advanced training we were doing, we all got way better. Especially Brandon. He's gotten really good over the last few years. Personally, I think he's good enough to be an Elite Four member."

"Man, sounds like the Battle Frontier has become a serious challenge then," said Ash.

"Yeah. At one point, for about a year and a half, no one was able to beat the Battle Frontier."

Ash's eyes widened as he said quickly, "No winners for a year and a half?"

Anabel nodded. "Incredible right? We got more challengers because of how long it had been since anyone beat all of us. Then, a new trainer came and crushed all of us. One after another."

"Who was it?" asked Miranda suddenly, making Anabel jump in surprise. It was the first time she had spoken to anyone but Espeon during the meal.

"Sorry," muttered Anabel, embarrassed. "Actually, the person who ended our streak ended up becoming the Champion of the Kanto and Johto regions. Absurd strength, even then." She shook her head slightly then added, "His name is Dion Liddick. He was the only other trainer apart from you, Ash, to be offered a position as a Battle Frontier Brain after winning."

"Huh? Really?" said Ash surprised. "I thought that everyone got that option if they won, though thinking on it now, that does seem a bit much."

"Yeah, Scott owns the thing, so he calls the shots. He's pretty selective about it, which is why we're all going crazy that he picked a new member and didn't tell us." Anabel finished her drink. "Let's start to head back. I'll continue as we walk."

Espeon recalled and the check paid, they set off for the stadium.

"So basically, Dion supported the Battle Frontier on TV and ever since, it's been pretty active." Anabel looked at the ground for a second then said, "Still, that doesn't mean it's without its problems. I trust that you can keep this to yourself; The main issue right now is that Tucker is leaving his position at the Battle Dome. He doesn't want to do it anymore. Maybe he'll do contests or something, but the fact is that he's made up his mind. After the tournament he's leaving. Or at least as soon as we get a replacement."

"Does Scott know?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, but only recently, so I don't know if Scott has a solution for this. And..." They had finally arrived at the entrance to the stadium. Anabel broke off, looking around like the other two. There were people filtering out of the stadium, chatting excitably. "What's going on?" Anabel said.

Ash returned to the group having just talked to a nearby group of girls. "I just asked, and apparently, Brandon's battle just ended a few minutes ago!" he said.

"Damn, I wanted to see it," Anabel cursed.

"Yeah, me too," said Miranda unhappily.

"Ahhh, you two don't understand. Not only did it end a few minutes ago, it started a few minutes ago!" Ash explained. "That means that it mush have been-"

"Three one-hits," said a voice behind them. They turned to see Max and Brock standing a few feet away along with Dawn, May, and Misty.

"Oh, you guys are here too," said Ash to the group at large.

"Anyway, Ash," said Brock quickly, "They are going to post the match-ups on the big screen inside, so let's go!"

The group followed Brock and Ash inside. However, nobody noticed that two held back as the rest went inside.

"What is it, why are you holding be back?" shot Miranda at Anabel. Anabel had grabbed Miranda's wrist as the group made to leave and pulled her away to a more secluded spot of the courtyard. No one would bother them here. Releasing her, Anabel turned, fixing Miranda with a heavy stare.

"Espeon regards you like you're some type of god. It's... not right. I don't understand it at all and truth be told, I probably wouldn't even if you explained it to me." The air around them seemed to chill.

"Is that what you wanted to say?" said Miranda, not understanding why she was being so hostile towards her. She turned her back on the girl and made to leave. Anabel continued.

"No, this is about Ash." Miranda stopped walking.

"...And?"

"I may have lost hope initially when I first met you, but since then I've been wondering why I even considered giving up," she said.

"Given up? What are you talking about?" said Miranda.

"Ash. You two aren't dating are you." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact. Miranda colored at once. "You just go around like good friends."

"That's not true, we're much closer than just friends!" she insisted, standing her ground.

"Oh? Have you kissed then?" Anabel had crossed her arms across her chest trying to look far more confident than she felt. She had been dying to know how close Ash and Miranda really were but could never bring herself to do so until now, though she was close to running away herself.

"Kissed?" Miranda's face burned harder at the thought. She suddenly thought back to that minute in the hospital room. She had been so close to him. So close. She could almost feel the heat of that moment coming back to here right there. "Talking about such a thing in a place like this." That wasn't something you just _talked _about to people about!

Anabel was completely nonplussed at her reaction. "How is it shameful to talk about kissing?" She shook her head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, clearly you haven't."

"I don't need to k-kiss him to be close to him!" she managed. "I know Ash better than anyone. I've been through so much with him." Her voice died off as she glared at the young woman before her. How could the sweet Anabel from moments ago with the cute Espeon suddenly become like this? But there really could only be one reason. An old acquaintance of hers from a life long past. "You're just jealous."

A dagger of ice stuck Anabel's heart. Miranda was right, she _was_ jealous. Jealousy ran through her body as thick as bile. It wasn't fair! To have had a crush on a guy who vanishes only to return years later with a girl attached to him. A girl who had been traveling around with him for _four years _no less!She thought she had gotten over him ages ago but the moment she saw him pull back that hood it was like she became ill with it. She knew that if he had stuck around they could have gotten together. She would have made it that way. But that wasn't what was happening now. Yet still, as hard as she looked, Ash and Miranda's relationship only seemed to go as deep as a close friendship. Close kinship at best...

"Maybe I am," she admitted, looking to the side. "But I'm not about to live in your shadow, especially if you're too much of a little girl about it all. I just wanted to know how things stood between you two from your perspective. Now I do. Look," she let out a rough breath, "you're a nice person, but when it comes to Ash you're just competition to me. All's fair in love and war after all."

"Ash won't love you," said Miranda resolutely.

"Coming from a girl who get's flustered when talking about kissing that doesn't mean much to me," said Anabel bluntly. "Makes me wonder what you're like if someone mentions sex. I'm guessing I wouldn't be far off assuming you're a virgin?"

"Ha-have you no shame?" she squeaked, embarrassed steam coming off of her head. Anabel blinked. She'd never really met anyone quite like Miranda before.

"Look I just wanted to say what I needed to. We should get back to the others." The purple haired girl walked off steadily, Miranda's eyes on her closely. She counted to ten before following, still somewhat taken aback by the entire conversation. She'd never really met anyone quite like Anabel before either.

xxx

"No way..."

"Are you serious?"

"It's gotta be rigged, there's no way it's not!"

"Guy's shut up, he's right here for god's sake..."

"Ash..." Dawn said his name softly. Everyone else turned at the sound of it to face Ash, lost for what to say. Ash's eyes were fixed on the picture of the face which was connected to his own. Dawn moved closer to him with the intent of comforting him somehow, though she too was at a loss. Before she could reach him however, he abruptly turned his back on the group and walked off, head down, not looking back once.

"Ah, what's... what's wrong?" Miranda had just shown up. Due to the commotion caused by the match-ups, Miranda's change in mood went entirely unnoticed.

"It's the second round," said Max clearly angry. "Just look at who Ash has been paired against!" Miranda searched and soon enough, found the picture they were all talking about.

"Why? Who's that?" she said shortly. The whole group exchanged incredulous looks.

"Well, it makes sense that she doesn't know," said Brock. "I can't imagine Ash would have been bursting to share that bit of history with anyone, even if they did ask."

"What are you all talking about?" asked Miranda, louder this time. "Tell me, who is that guy?"

Misty started, "Well, not counting his history with Ash, lately he's been making a name for himself across the regions. He's placed in first in every regional conference."

"Basically, he's a really strong trainer," said Max.

"Unfortunately, he's also the one who beat Ash at the Sinnoh League five years ago. You could say that it's because of him that Ash 'vanished'," said Brock.

"It's just so unfair, it's like his past is coming to haunt him. I wonder...if Ash will be able to win," said May, trading uneasy looks with the rest.

Dawn stood next to Miranda and looked up at the face.

"Paul," she said quietly. "His name is Paul."

Miranda turned and found Ash almost immediately. His hat and the Pikachu on his shoulder made him stand out quite well, even though he was far away from the group now. Brock's words rang in her mind. Her heart ached; even the thought of anything said earlier being true hurt. But she had to push that aside. Right now, Ash was facing something dark from a time she didn't know him. Of course, she had complete faith in Ash's abilities and his Pokemon, but at this time, surrounded by doubt and faced with an unknown trainer who was clearly a threat, she couldn't help but worry as she watched his back get smaller and smaller in the distance.

But there's one thing that none of the group knew...

Ash was grinning.

* * *

**-The next day-**

* * *

Ash pulled the brim of his hat lower over his eyes to block the sudden sunlight that greeted his entrance to the arena. As his eyes quickly grew accustomed to the light, he could see that his opponent was already waiting on his side of the field. Ash's arrival had finally cranked the volume of the stadium to its normal energetic levels of deafening. They were ready to see this battle.

"Trainer, take your position," said the judge to Ash as he approached. Ash nodded and stood at the edge of the large rocky field. As the judge began to call out their names, Ash met Paul's eyes. Paul smirked.

"Before we start, care to answer one question for me?" he said.

"And what's that?" Ash replied casually.

"How on in the world did a weak trainer like you end up in a place like this?" Paul picked a pokeball from his belt. Ash imitated him, grinning.

"Five year's and you're still the same boy obsessed with himself you were then. Haven't you heard of maturity?" Ash shot back. Paul scowled.

"Trainers, remember, you are only allowed one substitution during this battle. Now, both trainers, call out your first Pokemon!"

"Electivire, stand by for battle!" called Paul throwing out his pokeball.

"Gardevoir, let's go!" shouted Ash throwing his pokeball high.

Electivire crackled with electricity, giving Gardevoir a menacing look. Gardevoir ignored it.

"Now, Begin!" The stadium roared.

"Electivire, take it out in one shot! Thunder!" Paul shouted immediately. Electivire boosted itself into the air off of a rock and directed a massive streak of lightning directly at Gardevoir.

"Get out of there, Gardevoir!" Ash's called out quickly. Gardevoir immediately teleported out of harms way to the side of the battlefield. The ground where the attack struck was torn up by the intensity of the attack leaving a crater and a large amount of rubble.

"Gardevoir, quick use Confusion!" Gardevoir raised its arms and moments later sent every bit of loose rock at the still falling Electivire, which was unable to dodge it.

"Protect!" Paul's quick thinking saved Electivire from harm. "Now, Thunder Punch!"

Electivire propelled itself at Gardevoir, fist shining with electricity.

"Avoid it and hit it with an Energy Ball at close range!" shouted Ash. This wasn't going very well for him. He needed Gardevoir for later and she lacked a type of move that would be able to win this particular battle decisively. It was almost time, just a little bit more...

Gardevoir dodged the Thunder Punch by inches and quickly rammed an Energy Ball into Electivire's chest, causing it a good amount of damage despite being a grass move.

"Grab it!" Moving faster than it had before, Elevtivire quickly grabbed Gardevoir by the arm, preventing her from escaping. "Now, Thunder Punch!"

The attack sent Gardevoir flying back crashing into the ground and rolling to a stop on the other side of the battlefield.

"Dammit! Gardevoir, return!" Ash shouted quickly, recalling her just in time as another Thunder rent the ground. "I'm sorry, Gardevoir. I should have pulled you out sooner. Rest up for now." Ash picked a new pokeball from his belt and threw it out. "Armaldo, show me what you can do!"

Paul gave Armaldo a demeaning look. "First you send out that frail Gardevoir and now you choose this?" Ash ignored him.

"Armaldo, he's getting really annoying and I'm tired of looking at him. Separate them! Earth Power!" he shouted. By the time Paul knew what was happening, a huge rock wall had formed between him and Elecvivire, effectively separating them. Taking advantage of their distracted state, Ash said, "Again!"

This time Armaldo used Earth Power on Electivire, which took the full force of the attack. Spears of earth shot out of the ground, hitting Electivire hard. The second Earth Power caused the wall to collapse, but it had done it's job.

"Electivire is unable to battle! Armaldo wins!"

Paul gritted his teeth and recalled Electivire. "Torterra, stand by for battle!" The huge Pokemon crushed some of the loose rocks it landed on into dust. "Take that thing out! Frenzy Plant!"

"Armaldo! Defensive stance!" shouted Ash. Armaldo quickly used Harden and braced itself. As Ash had learned so many years ago, there were some Pokemon that simply could not avoid most attacks. However, many of these Pokemon posessed incredible endurance and defensive strength. Put simply, Armaldo was as much a tank as Paul's Torterra.

"Now use Ancient Power!" Ash shouted. Armaldo's attack hit Torterra squarely but it only dealt about as much damage as the Frenzy Plant had. If he was going to win this, he needed to do it in one shot. It was all or nothing and both Ash and Paul arrived at the same conclusion simultaneously.

"Torterra/Armaldo, Hyper Beam!" they shouted in unison. The beams fired at the same time, passing each other by with barely a hair's width of space between them. They each connected with their targets causing the beams to touch in the middle, resulting in a massive explosion. Ash, Paul, and the judge stood up shakily. They were all pushed back by the force of the explosion. The crowd, which Ash had completely tuned out until now, came back to his ears, louder than ever.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!"

"Great work, Armaldo. For your first real battle, I think you did a great job." said Ash, recalling Armaldo to its pokeball. Paul recalled Torterra. He said nothing.

Choosing a new pokeball from his belt, Paul said, "Magmortar, stand by for battle!"

"Gardevoir, you know what to do," said Ash softly as he called out Gardevoir. She was looking slightly better, but he knew that she was nearly spent. She looked at him sidelong as if she sensed his concern.

_'Do not worry about me. Pikachu, I will set the stage for your return,'_ she said to their minds. Gardevoir was focused.

"Gardevoir, Calm Mind," said Ash. Gardevoir closed her eyes and relaxed sharpening her psychic energies. Ash wanted her to be as prepared as possible for this.

"Begin!"

"Now, Magmortar, Flamethrower!" shouted Paul, pointing at Gardevoir. Magmortar gave a shout and raised both of its arms shooting a huge stream of fire directly at Gardevoir, who still had her eyes closed in meditation. Ash knew that is was his turn to help.

"Gardevoir, Teleport ten meters to your left then use Charge Beam!" Ash shouted swiftly. The words had barely left his mouth when Gardevoir followed them. Avoiding the flame thrower she opened her eyes; they glowed slightly from her meditation. She spread her arms wide. Electricity gathered around each hand. She quickly brought her hands together, sending out a blast of lightning at Magmortar, who was now moving closer to Gardevoir.

"Quick, use Rock Tomb!" shouted Paul. Magmortar stopped and shot a purple orb into the ground at its feet. Large slabs of rick instantly sprouted from the ground where it hit. Gardevoir's attack was blocked by the rocks. "Now, do it!"

"Gardevoir, on your left, look out!" Ash shouted, but it was too late. Using the rock tomb as well as other large pieces of rubble nearby, Magmortar had managed to flank Gardevoir without either of them realizing it. As to how it could move so fast, Ash's question was answered immediately.

"Fire Punch!" Using one arm like a rocket, Magmortar propelled itself directly at Gardevoir, its other arm ready to attack. The Fire Punch was a direct hit; Gardevoir was too worn out to keep dodging. Gardevoir landed roughly near Ash.

"Gardevoir!" Ash ran over to her as she forced herself to stand. She brought her hands close to each other and for a moment, her entire body glowed a bright blue-purple light, but it faded at once. Ash caught her as she fell. "Gardevoir, are you alright? You did great. Really great."

_'Thank you...'_ Ash recalled her into her pokeball and fixed it ho his belt. He did not draw another one. As the judge declared Magmortar the winner, Ash looked up at the sky. Clouds were beginning to form. Dark ones.

Ash turned to Pikachu. He sat at Ash's feet, looking up at him with determined eyes.

"It's time Pikachu. Thanks to Gardevoir, this battle it going to happen in your playing field. We can't tell how long this will last so we have to go as hard and fast as we can. You with me, buddy?"

"Pi-Pikachu!"

Taking his place at the edge of the field Ash said, "Pikachu, I choose you!" Thunder resounded throughout the stadium. Dark clouds now completely shadowed the entire battlefield.

Paul looked up. "What's this?" he said slowly. "Ah!" a fat rain drop landed on his forehead. He looked at Ash, furious that such a weak trainer would cause him one further annoyance like this. As the rain began to fall on the battlefield, the judge said,

"Now, begin!"

"Pikachu Thunderbolt! To the clouds!" Ash shouted. All he needed was a few seconds, and Magmortar being distracted by the sudden rain was just the thing. Pikachu let loose a hunge Thunderbolt straight into the center of the dark clouds. Paul hesitated, unsure of what was going on. Moments later, Pikachu was struck by an enormous lightning bolt, causing the small Pokemon to light up, brimming with energy and electricity crackling loudly.

"Now , spread it out! Discharge!" Ash finished. Pikachu gave a shout and sent all of the built up energy into the battlefield ground. Lightning jumped away in every direction clinging to the ground. Magmortar jumped out of the way of being hit by the surge by leaping over it.

Paul sneered, fed up, " And after all that, nothing happened. Worthless! Are you seriously trying to intimidate us or something? You wont be able to stop Magmortar with just a bit of ra-"

Lightning struck the battlefield off to the side. Then another bolt fell, followed by another. Magmortar looked back to Paul for instruction, but Paul didn't know what to do. He was still caught up by the fact that the battlefield had become plagued with random lightning strikes. "Magmortar, look out!" cried Paul pointing behind him. He turned to get hit with a powerful Thunderbolt attack from Pikachu who stood atop a rock.

"Shake it off and use Flamethrower!" shouted Paul. Magmortar let loose another jet of flame, but the steady rain reduced its intensity greatly. Pikachu dodged it easily.

"Great! Counter with another Thunderbolt!" shouted Ash.

"Quick, behind cover!" Magmortar was able to dodge a direct hit, but he still took some damage from the attack. This time however, Ash could see that the attack had done a bit more than just damage Magmortar. Also the storm would let up shortly. It was now or never.

"Pikachu, in the air!" shouted Ash, pointing towards Magmortar. Pikachu understood what was going on. He ran and launched himself high into the air off of a rock.

"Now, Iron Tail!" called Ash. As Pikachu's tail began to glow bright white, Paul could see that Magmortar was being targeted by the Iron Tail.

"Magmortar, get out of the way!" he shouted, but Magmortar was unable to move. Unlike Ash, Paul had failed to notice that Magmortar was paralyzed. "Magmortar! Move!"

Pikachu raised his tail as he reached the peak of his jump. Almost at once, lightning struck his tail from multiple places makingit light up with wild electricity.

"Now! Finish this! Lightning Tail!" cried Ash, his body pumping with adrenaline. Pikachu's tail slamed into the rock that Magmortar was behind, cleaving it in two, and connected with Magmortar. The earth around the Pokemon was blasted away, leaving Magmortar unconscious in the center of a crater. The dust cleared and the clouds finally dissipated. It was over.

"Magmortar is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu! Victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

The stadium erupted in cheers.

XxxxX

Ash stood out on his balcony looking at the dark sky. Following Ash's win, everyone had gotten together and planned a party at his hotel suite. Brock, Dawn and the others had insisted that it was simply to celebrate everyone making it to the third round of the tournament, but he knew that it was really more of a "you've finally broken free from your past" party. Completely unnecessary, but he appreciated it all the same. Even after all these years of being apart they were still as supportive of him as ever. It meant a lot.

"You know you look different, even if you don't think so," said a voice behind him. He turned to see Cynthia standing in the doorway, holding two small drinks. She was dressed semi-casually, a mix of light clothing with her usual black. Apart from that one time five years ago, Ash hadn't seen her ever dress so casually again, and this time was distinctly more dress-like. Her hair was flowing around her like it usually did, the occasional strand curling up at a corner. All in all, it suited her really well. The light from the room outlined her curves perfectly. Seeing Ash's eyes wander, Cynthia blushed slightly.

"What, is it so odd to see me wearing something different?" she said, walking past him and leaning on the railing. It still struck him how human she was, while most put her on such a high pedestal. Of course it wasn't like they didn't have a good reason to. Cynthia was the epitome of Pokemon trainers on this side of the world.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, joining her. She glanced at him sidelong and held out one of the drinks which he took.

"Dunno, you just do." She drained her drink in one shot making Ash blink. He put his nose to the glass he held and inhaled before coughing immediately.

"Cynthia, what in god's name did you just hand me?"

"My second drink, thanks for holding it for me," she said at once, reclaiming the glass and downing it as well. She coughed a few times before looking regarding the glass warily. "Perhaps two wasn't such a great idea, though Lucy did say- oops!" Cynthia accidentally dropped both glasses over the railing, where they dropped into the distance below. "Ah dammit..."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Cynthia?" said Ash flatly. Cynthia giggled helplessly for a few seconds before regaining control of herself.

"I'm sorry Ash, alcohol makes me a bit silly," she said, shaking her head a bit to clear it. The action made her lose her balance a bit, causing her to lean against him to stay straight.

"You, um, are you alright?" asked Ash after a second, barely daring to move. He was starting to feel distinctly warm, particularly the arm that Cynthia was currently clutching. She looked up to meet his gaze and suddenly seemed to realize exactly how close they had gotten.

"I-"

"_You dropped these."_ Ash and Cynthia both jumped, turning quickly. Gardevoir was hovering behind them a few inches off the ground, the two glasses Cynthia had dropped revolving slowly above her outstretched hand. The glasses floated to the small table that occupied the other end of the balcony.

"Nice catch, Gardevoir," said Ash at once, grinning at the Pokemon. "I was afraid they might hurt someone below." He walked over and gave her head an affectionate rub. She was always keeping an eye on him, even when he couldn't see her. A comfort he had become so accustomed to over the years but never took for granted. He was truly lucky to have someone like her around.

"_It was nothing,"_ she said, eyes closed. A sound from behind them drew both of their attention to Cynthia who had a hand over her mouth.

"Someone's looking like she's enjoying herself," she teased. Gardevoir's blood red eyes fixed on Cynthia's for a moment before she vanished into thin air. Cynthia blinked. "Ah, I hope I didn't embarrass her..."

"I'm sure she's still somewhere close," said Ash with a shrug. Seeing Cynthia teeter again he continued, "Why don't you sit down with me."

"Probably a good idea, I've never drunk much in my life."

"Me neither, I'm more into fizzy stuff honestly," said Ash. They fell into silence. Muffled laughter and chatter could be heard through the balcony doors. The party had already been going on for nearly three hours but no one seemed to want to leave so it just continued.

"Have you ever-" Ash looked over at Cynthia, but she shook her head. "Never mind, it's stupid."

"Go on," he said. "You know I'm here for ya, however crazy your question might seem."

"Alright then," Cynthia said, clearing her throat. She looked at Ash and suddenly her demeanor seemed to shift. "Has something ever happened to you where you suddenly had no idea how to react or think and you're afraid because you get the feeling that if you don't react right then you'll regret it for the rest of your life?" Ash frowned.

"Of course. I think you're talking about something called life." Cynthia scowled at him. "Hey don't be like that I know what you mean."

"I know, it happens to everyone. I told you it was stupid."

"Can you give me a little context? I might be able to help," he offered. It was discomforting to see her like this. She who was usually so strong about everything; so in control. Cynthia crossed her arms.

"Absolutely not. Not in a million years." Ash sweatdropped.

"You know, Miranda's said that exact thing to me too at times when I offer to lend an ear," he said. "Something tells me this is more a girl thing. Why don't you talk to her?"

"Bad idea, just trust me on that," she said with a sigh.

"Well then, how about your mom?" At once Ash knew he made a mistake. Cynthia's face fell a bit and she let out a breath.

"She would probably be my first choice, but unfortunately both my mother and my father passed away when I was still young. I spent a good chunk of my childhood with my grandmother, who you met years ago." Ash looked into his lap, regretting he ever spoke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up sad memories," he apologized. Cynthia shook her head.

"It's quite alright, you didn't know," she said. "Plus, it was a long time ago. Now answer my question. I'm in this situation, what should I do?"

"Well, since I have no idea what the situation is all I can say is go with your gut and don't do something you'll come to regret." Ash scratched his chin in thought. "For me, if I'm ever presented with a situation where I have the choice to either do something or not, I'd rather do it and face the consequences than not and regret never doing it later. I know," he paused for a moment. "I know an entire town's worth of people who did something that they will come to regret for the rest of their lives and it will eat at them till the day they die. I _know_ they'll regret it. And knowing that taught me something." Ash unconsciously clenched his hand on the table before relaxing it. Cynthia stared at it for a long time. Her eyes flickered from his hand to his face, which was staring back into the night sky. The balcony door suddenly slid open.

"Ash, Cynthia, everyone's wrapping up, it's really damn late," said Misty. She looked pretty tired. "Anabel's looking for you by the way, Ash. Goodnight, you two." She ducked her head back in the room, leaving the door open where the sounds of people saying goodnights was clear. Ash checked his watch.

"Oh man it's after one..." he looked over at Cynthia who was resting on her arms now, looking slightly put out. "Gardevoir, after you pop Miranda back to her place could you go back with Cynthia? Make sure she doesn't trip or anything see where her place is so you can just teleport her there next time."

"_Of course,"_ she said, vanishing to take Miranda home.

"Thanks, Ash," said Cynthia, waiting for the Pokemon to return. "We've got time before the next round so let's get lunch sometime. I want to hear about some of the places you've been in the past few years."

"Sure thing, I'll be in touch," said Ash. He walked back inside to find Anabel.

xxx

"Ash, do you have someone you like?"

"What?" He and Anabel were walking along the empty streets to her hotel. The question had quite literally come out of the dark.

"You know, a girl," she said. Anabel was eying him sidelong.

"Girls aren't interested in me, Anabel," said Ash at once, dodging the question. His mind however was flickering between the incidents on the balcony and in the hospital room. Anabel let out a snort of mirth.

"Ash even you know how stupid that sounds," she said. Yeah well...

"This is the place right?" he asked, looking up at the towering hotel building. There were a large number of them in close proximity to the stadiums, just like his was. The only reason that he wasn't closer with the others was that he entered the tournament late. Not that he was complaining. His place was really nice.

"Yeah, come on up," said Anabel. Ash paused for a second.

"Anabel, don't you think it's a bit late-"

"Don't be a baby," she chided, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. She checked in with the clerk at the front desk and led Ash to a large elevator which took them to the sixth floor. One minute later and Ash was sitting on a couch in the living area of Anabel's hotel room, waiting for her to come out of the bedroom. It was significantly smaller than his place. In fact, he was beginning to wonder why his place was more like a huge apartment than a hotel room.

"It's cramped compared to that crazy penthouse of yours isn't it," came a voice from behind him. Anabel had emerged from her room in a robe. She plopped herself down next to him.

"Yeah I'm not sure how I ended up with it, honestly," he admitted. "Are most of the tournament lodgings like this?"

"Actually no, the average one looks like a regular hotel room. This is nicer because it has a separate bedroom and the like," she explained. "Now stop dodging the question."

"Question?"

"Girls, Ash, girls."

"Why do you want to know anyway?"

"I want to know if you're free," she said after a second.

"Free for what?"

"For me you idiot," and before he knew what was happening she was kissing him. Ash's brain was currently stalled out, trying to come to terms with what was actually happening to him while he tried to make sense of exactly what he was feeling. It wasn't like he'd _never_ been kissed by a girl before. It was just he'd never been _kissed_ before. Not like this. He tried to do something, say something, but the moment he parted his lips Anabel deepened the kiss, adding her tongue to the mix. His body was hot, wanting to reciprocate; but still he just...

"Anabel stop," he said forcefully, pushing her back and holding her a foot away from him. She was red faced, eyes hazy, breath coming hot and quick. "This isn't- it's not right." Anabel winced, averting her eyes from his immediately. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. Ash searched around for something to break the awkward atmosphere. "I'll- I'll go make some tea or something," he said, getting up and walking off to the kitchen. A little while later he came back with a steaming cup in his hand. Anabel hadn't moved at all, still sitting on the couch. He held out the cup which she took after hesitating for a second.

"Careful, it's hot," he said before taking his seat.

"...thank you," said Anabel softly. Her voice was the complete opposite of what it had been minutes ago. They were both silent for a while, the only sound being Anabel taking a periodic sip of her tea. "I'm sorry, Ash. I don't know what came over me...to do that. I hope you can forgive me."

"How long?" said Ash suddenly.

"How long, what?" asked Anabel.

"How long have you felt...like this," Ash said, still not turning. Anabel looked into her cup. Words came to her mind and she was too tired to hold anything back.

"Since I met you." Anabel heard him mutter, '...it would be, wouldn't it...', but she continued as if he didn't say anything. "I had a crush on you for a while, but then you vanished. I knew it was unrealistic to brood on it; I would probably never see you again. Who knows the number of trainers that have come to battle me then I've never heard from or seen again. But then I saw you at the party and it all came rushing back..." She took a long draft of the tea. "It's been really lonely lately at the Battle Tower. Things have just been going downhill since Tucker said he was leaving. He's always been some of the glue that held us all together. I was jealous of Miranda because of how close she is with you and I just told myself I had to do something."

"It's not like we're together," said Ash at once, "but I won't deny we've been through a lot together. Probably more than anyone else I know."

"It doesn't matter. I'd regret it if I never did anything. _Do_ you love her?" she shot suddenly at Ash. He opened his mouth to answer, but Anabel spoke over him. "Ah, don't bother." Anabel looked at the clock on the bedside table and moved to the front door. "You should get back, it's so late." Ash quickly followed her.

"Anabel-"

"I'll see you around, Ash."

"Anabel, listen!" said Ash loudly so that she would stop talking. She looked at him, apprehensively. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not mad at you so relax. When this tournament is over, I promise that I'll come and visit you a lot. It's not like I'm going to go missing again or anything." He paused and looked at her with a small frown of concern. "You going to be okay?"

"Stop being nice to me you're making this harder," she said, pushing him out into the hall. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." Anabel closed the door and leaned her back against it. The tears she held back came easily now. "It was a long shot but I still had to try. Dammit all..."


	6. Miranda Eon

_Five days have passed since the conclusion Round 2. Ash easily defeats his opponent during Round 3. Today, Ash battles yet another unknown trainer to progress; however, unlike all previous battles, this one is for a place in the top 16. Ash is completely focused on his match, which is due to begin shortly. Meanwhile, far away from the stadium, a young woman rushes about her apartment..._

"Oh man, I'm going to be late," Miranda said to her room at large. From the moment she woke up late that morning, Miranda could tell that it was going to be a rough day. Ash's battle was scheduled to be held at about noon, but it was now almost 11:30 and she was still only sporting underwear and socks, her hair not completely dry from the shower.

"Why don't you just go out like that?" said the Pokemon on her bed. Miranda faced her Glaceon and put her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah, there's an idea; and while we're at it we can shave off all your fur," she said sarcastically. Her eyes lit upon something sticking out from underneath the ice Pokemon. "Ah! Glaceon, you're laying on it!"

Glaceon moved, looking sheepish, and jumped off the bed. Miranda quickly snatched up her bra and put it on with a small shriek, "Cold!" Flareon, who was sitting out of the way, laughed softly, only to be cuffed lightly on the back of his head by Umbreon's tail.

"You lack respect," he said, looking directly at Glaceon. "As always."

"Don't worry about it Umbreon, I'm sure she didn't mean it...probably." Miranda's voice trailed off, clearly her mind elsewhere.

"I know you're rushed, but that looks as if it is not the only thing on your mind. Is something troubling you?" Vaporeon asked from the chair. Miranda looked at him, slightly surprised.

"Ah, not really," she said, smiling at him, "I guess, I'm just getting kind of a bad feeling about today. It's a bit silly, I know." She shook her head and went over to the pile of freshly laundered clothing yet to be put away next to her dresser. As she rummaged through it, Leafeon and Eevee came over to her side.

"If you're worried about the Aura Guardian, then you should relax. He will not be defeated," said Leafeon in a matter-of-fact voice. "He has _Her_ after all."

"Yeah, Ash is really strong! So don't worry about him," Eevee added cheerfully.

"Yeah, you're right. He'll be fine for sure. Thanks you two," Miranda said, scratching their heads lovingly. In truth, Miranda still could not shake her small feeling of unease. _'I know I'm not worrying about Ash so what could it be. Ugh, I don't have time for this. I'll deal with it later. It's probably nothing anyway.'_

Returning to the task at hand, Miranda noticed that she had already finished picking out what to wear. Lost in uneasy thoughts, she had unconsciously picked clothes that matched her state of mind. After a second of hesitation, Miranda decided to follow her instinct on this. Walking over to the full length mirror on the wall, she watched as a stool floated out of the kitchen area and came to rest at her side.

"Thanks, Espeon," said Miranda, now placing the clothes on the stool. She grabbed the dark green cargo pants from the top of the pile and pulled them on, securing them with one of the belts Ash had gotten customized for her. As she had discovered years ago, belts made to hold 8 pokeballs at once simply were not made to begin with, and so Ash helped her out. Looking around, Miranda found her pokeballs all together in a pile on her bed.

Not wanting to make her Pokemon go inside their pokeballs until she was walking out the door, she returned to her reflection, grabbing the next piece. Pulling on the black sleeveless shirt she turned on the spot, succumbing to a small fit of vanity. The shirt accented her figure well. Really well.

Flareon looked at the others, who had all gathered in the same general area, and asked, "Doesn't she have someplace to be right now?"

"Oh let her have her fun. Doesn't it make you happy when she's like that?" said Jolteon warmly, her head cocked slightly to one side. Flareon ignored her and turned his head back to Miranda, who had donned fingerless gloves, covering the tattoos on her hands. She did a 360 then thrust out her arm, holding up two fingers in a pose, finally giggling helplessly after a few seconds of silence. The corners of Flareon's mouth twitched.

The wall clock chimed the third quarter of the hour, making Miranda jump.

"Ahh, I have to leave! I'm going to be so late now!" she half cried half moaned.

"Grrrr, and whose fault is that!" Flareon practically shouted, jumping up in annoyance. Miranda turned quickly at this, loosing her balance and grabbing the stool so she wouldn't fall over. Flareon's face was being pressed into the carpet by Umbreon's paw, forcing him into a bow. The others were around him, faces ranging from angry to worried.

"Know your place!" Umbreon barked at the younger Pokemon. "Are you so eager to lose your place at Her side?"

"Umbreon, please don't be too hard on him," said Miranda quickly, kneeling in front of them. Umbreon removed his paw automatically, but Flareon remained firmly down, only lifting his head ever so slightly so that he could see her. She pressed her hands together and continued, "Really, it's my fault for fooling around when I have things I need to do, and I'm making you all sit around and wait. Sorry."

"N-no, it's not- I, I shouldn't have yelled; I was disrespectful," Flareon managed to get out.

"We should get going," Espeon reminded everyone.

"Right," said Miranda, standing up and pulling on her gray hooded over-shirt. Quickly grabbing the pokeballs off of her bed, she recalled them all and clipped each pokeball to her belt, four on each side. Shoes on, Miranda fixed the hood of the shirt, completely covering the last of her tattoos. With that, she dashed out the door, hoping that it wouldn't be _too _late by the time she made it to the stadium.

"Well, he'll understand."

xxx

Cynthia sat down with a small grunt of frustration. She had spent the past fifteen minutes locating a seat that was not surrounded by people. She abandoned the idea of sitting close up as there wasn't even room to walk, let alone sit. Not that she felt like being worshiped by random fans either. The fact that her battle was the first of the day, coupled with the few hours of sleep she received the previous night, had put her in a distinctly grouchy mood. The place that she was sitting in now was almost as far back as she could be. She put herself near a corner of deserted seats and enjoyed her break from the spotlight.

Looking at the arena, Cynthia could see that the wreckage of the last battle was still being cleared. The battle between the lifetime friends and rivals Volkner, Sunyshore Gym Leader, and Flint of the Sinnoh Elite Four was everything Cynthia had hoped it would be. It gave her a warm feeling to see them like this. The League members of Sinnoh were like her kid siblings in a way, despite her being younger than most of them. Instead of going to the stands after her battle ended, she had decided to hang around, watching the battle at eye level. Seeing the battle up close improved her mood slightly. When Flint managed to come out on top with only one Pokemon left, the stadium gave an intense roar.

The stadium gave a huge cheer, pulling Cynthia's focus to the middle. It was difficult to see from where she was, but Ash's hat and yellow shoulder passenger were unmistakable. A quick look at the data board told her it was almost 12:30. It was then that Gardevoir appeared directly in front of her.

_~Fifteen Minutes Earlier~_

After almost twenty minutes of constant jogging, Miranda could clearly make out the outer wall of the stadium. She slowed her pace to a walk, catching her breath. It would do her no good if she was worn out by the time she got to the mountains of stairs she potentially might have to climb for a seat. In any case, the stadium was only a short distance away now. Miranda was now walking along the edge of a large plaza which was dotted with short bushes, fountains, and benches. Looking around she saw that it was completely deserted, which made sense as there were battles going on right now. However, just before she passed it entirely she noticed a small group of people near the middle of the plaza which she hadn't been able to see until now. Miranda's extremely good eyesight enabled her to make them out fairly well.

Miranda stopped walking abruptly. There were four people in the group. One had his back to her and another, clearly a female, stood sideways; the last two were facing the first, enabling Miranda to see their faces. She stood there for a number of seconds, her fists clenching, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"It's them. Those two... are here," she said to the air. "Those two..." Her voice came through gritted teeth. She shut her eyes tightly but their faces did not vanish from her mind. Then she began to laugh to herself softly. She pulled her hood up over her head. Her back to the stadium, a pokeball now in her hand, Miranda began to walk toward the group of people.

"..._Perfect._"

xxx

"For the last damn time, Aero, if you won't give me any more information then I'm leaving and I'll go back to doing it the old fashioned way. You know sometimes I think that I used to do better on my own."

"Corey, please, you know how this works. You get paid _after_ you work, not before. I gave you the information you wanted last time-" but Corey overrode him.

"Yeah, and it was a complete bust!" Aero sighed and continued,

"Look, I gather information yeah, but I don't magically get all perfect info. And anyway, it's not my job to figure out if it's accurate or not, just give it to you. You said that yourself when we started doing this." Corey nodded grudgingly.

"Well anyway as it happens, I do have some information that I judge to be fairly accurate, but the price-" Aero stopped talking as a hand was rested on his shoulder.

"I'll take it from here, Aero, thank you," said the owner of the hand, a well dressed man.

"Ah, sure thing Boss," said Aero, taking a couple of steps back.

"Corey, it's good to see you again," he said. "You remember me, I'm sure."

"Sure. As the man who heads the Hunters under J's command, you're pretty popular aren't you Mr. Vince Korinek? With police of course," Corey said with distaste. He hated working with these people, but he still needed the information they provided him with.

"Watch your mouth, punk!" shot the woman to his right, eying him aggressively.

"Oh?" said Corey, fed up. "And in what world do you think you could ever back that up in?"

"You bastard-"

"Kira! Enough!" Aero had stepped between them, facing the furious Kira. "Look, despite his attitude when he deals with us, he does good work; and more to the point, he would crush you."

Kira closed her eyes counting to ten then relaxed, under control.

"Heh, everyone has their business talk, but it's clear that you are not all hot air. I respect that," said Vince, still wearing his smile.

"Cut to it, Korinek. What's the condition? Why are you even here, talking to me?" Even if he ended up scrapping the deal, he was determined to get something useful out of this guy.

"Well then, straight to it. I'm here because I want you to join us officially." Corey said nothing. Korinek continued, "You have been helping us a lot lately, getting us the specified Pokemon we need. You've even avoided taking Pokemon from their trainers, instead catching everything wild, but still our clients are more than satisfied. Your strength would certainly help us in the future. We've got much larger things than lowly Pokemon hunting going on. I'm sure you don't have to think too hard about the resources you would gain..." He trailed off there, purposely giving Corey a moment to consider it. "Now I'm not going to force you, and certainly even if you refuse, the deal you have with Aero here won't end. That's between you and him, not me." Korinek went to stand at his subordinate's side. "So what do you say?"

"Forget it," Corey said immediately.

"Ah, your loss. Aero, Kira, time for us... to... DOWN!" Korinek shouted as he quickly ducked down. The others imitated him a moment later, just in time to see two large balls of intense darkness pass through where they were just standing. The first ball hit a bench nearby, breaking it to tiny pieces. The second carved out a few yards of pavement before dissapating.

"What the hell?" said Corey and Kira at the same time. Everyone looked at the source of the attack. A person wearing a hooded shirt, gloves, and cargo pants was standing a number of meters away from them, approaching at a steady walk. Directly in front of the person was a silver furred Eevee.

"Boss, it's...!" Aero said, unease clear in his voice. He had a pokeball in his hand, as did Vince and Kira.

"Yes, Aero, it's her. I can see that," Korinek's voice was hard but there was no hint of weakness behind it. "Aero. Kira. She must be captured! Kira, this is an order: Do not hold back." He threw out his pokeball as did the other two. Korinek had chosen an Ursaring, Aero a Feraligatr, and Kira a Cacturne. As the other two rushed the girl, Aero paused and said to Corey,

"Will you help us? Since the circumstances have changed I'll give you some info if you help us take down that girl."

Corey looked between them and the girl. "No way! I don't just attack people like you guys do. Plus, how the hell could you three need help against _one_ girl?" He turned around to the battle just as something massive flew passed his head. Ursaring collided with the fountain crushing it, water flooding out the side. Aero was already moving into the battle.

"What the hell is going on!" shouted Kira, recalling an unconscious Cacturne and throwing another pokeball. "That Eevee is a monster! How can it be that strong!"

"The Eevee is strong, but it's the trainer!" shouted Aero, narrowly avoiding taking a Shadow Ball to the chest. The girl just stood there pointing occasionally but did not once make a sound. The silver Eevee continued to lay waste to all of its opponents with countless Shadow Ball attacks in addition to Quick Attacks combined with Headbutts that had enormous strength. Corey realized that he had a pokeball in his hand. He couldn't help but be shaken by this sight.

"That's insane. Just who is that girl?" Kira's second Pokemon had also fallen. Aero was protecting her but he was clearly losing this battle as well. Vince had a number of powerful Pokemon, but the Eevee was too nimble, evading incoming attacks with ease.

"Dammit!" Aero shouted. He had tripped, trying to get Kira and his own Pokemon out of range of the Eevee, and now a huge Shadow Ball was aiming right for them. _'Eevee are supposed to be relatively weak because they have so few attacks compared to most Pokemon; and we're all getting stomped by one!'_ Aero couldn't help but curse himself for not suggesting that they escape. Vince would have listened if it came from him.

Aero braced for the impact but it never came. Opening his eyes, he saw Corey standing in front of him. Corey's Empoleon was in front of them all using Protect. Empoleon winced as the attack hit the shield though it held like it should. It was _heavy_. Corey glanced back at Aero and Kira. "You two okay?"

"Ah, yeah, thanks," said Aero, getting to his feet and helping Kira up. She was hurt, but she could still move around.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I just want that info you promised me just now. Plus, watching girls get killed isn't my style." Corey said evenly. Ignoring the outraged Kira, he looked around for Vince. He found him close by and apart from a few rips in his sleeves he looked alright.

"Hey, she stopped attacking," said Kira, pointing at the hooded girl. Empoleon's Protect faded as they all looked at the girl. Sure enough, the Eevee just stood between its trainer's feet.

"Aero, who is this girl? I know you know something!" said Corey softly, not taking his eyes off of her. Her head fell back almost limply, pointing her face at the sky. A chill went down his spine. Something wasn't right here.

"Miranda. Miranda Eon; and just as dangerous as ever I can see," said Vince who had slowly come over to them with one eye fixed on Miranda.

"Miranda _Eon_?" said Corey. "That's her name?"

"Well, we came up with it after the last time we met," said Aero quietly. "The Eon part, I mean. Personally, I really hope you don't get to see why... for all our sakes. But it really may be..."

"Wha-?" began Kira, but the cut off at once. All four of them froze as Miranda suddenly began speaking.

"You..." Her hands moved behind her back and dropped to her sides as a large number of pokeballs fell to the ground behind her. As the seven Eon Pokemon emerged around her, the four people faltered, automatically taking a step back. Every Pokemons' eyes were glowing intensely. Miranda raised her head, looking straight at her prey, her own eyes glowing fiercely. "I'll make you pay!"

"...too late." Aero finished.

xxx

"Gardevoir! Don't, don't do that!" said Cynthia, alarmed at the sudden appearance of the Pokemon. "Shouldn't you be out there?" she continued more calmly, pointing at the arena where Ash was starting to battle his opponent.

"_There is no time. We are teleporting,"_ said Gardevoir. Cynthia had just enough sense of what was going on to shut her eyes tightly before she felt the incredibly strange feeling of reality physically shifting. Moments later, Cynthia felt her butt hit the ground. The _stone_ ground. Hoping that no one had seen her fall, she opened her eyes, slowly standing up. Whatever she was just planing to say to Gardevoir about sudden teleportation completely evaporated. Her entire mind was filled with the scene they had just entered.

It was the plaza just outside the stadium; literally. While there _was_ a plaza here in the morning, the devastation that surrounded her was unimaginable. The edges of the area had suffered the least amount of damage, with only a few of the trees that periodically dotted the perimeter having been knocked over. Further in however was a complete mess. What had once been a good number of benches were now shattered wood and warped metal. The majority of all the small shrubs and lines of knee high greenery were incinerated. Only the biggest parts of flora were still burning. The few fountains in the area were reduced to rubble, water flowing out of the sporadically.

As Cynthia passed one of the fountains, she noticed that the water was still crackling with electricity. In addition to that, there were long deep cuts in the stone ground as if made by a giant blade. However none of this compared to the spectacle that had become of the center fountain. It was completely frozen over, long spikes of ice shooting out in every direction from the center. It was several meters high in all.

"_There!"_ said Gardevoir urgently, pointing next to the fountain. Miranda was laying on the ground, unmoving. Her hood had fallen back off of her head.

"Miranda!" shouted Cynthia, running over to her. She didn't respond. "Miranda! Hey Mira-!" Cynthia grabbed her arms, but stopped short when she saw her eyes. They were completely different from normal. The usually, deep brown eyes were now a multitude of colors shifting so rapidly that Cynthia couldn't look at them without feeling lightly nauseous. Putting that aside, Cynthia turned to Gardevoir and said quickly, "We need to get out of here. Anywhere where we won't be disturbed. Please!"

Gardevoir nodded and Cynthia pulled Miranda close. Seconds later the plaza was empty.

~_Hours Later~_

"How is she?" asked Ash.

"Well, her fever has gone down and it looks like the spasms of pain are also over. Right now she's sleeping." Cynthia replaced the cloth on Miranda's forehead and then followed Ash into the kitchen. Gardevoir had immediately teleported Cynthia and Miranda to Miranda's home, judging it to be the safest place at that time. She had then left to wait for Ash, bringing him back the moment he had left the arena with his win. They sat at the table in silence, both unsure of what to say. The past few hours had played out similarly, the only difference being that Miranda was in worse condition. It was Ash who finally broke the silence.

"This is the second time I've had to wait for her to wake up from this," he said softly. Cynthia looked at him, wide eyed.

"So you're saying..."

"Yeah, this happened before." Ash leaned back in his chair. "Just once. Admittedly it was much worse the first time, but that was all it took to completely destroy her whole world." Seeing Cynthia's expression, Ash sat up and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure you want to know? It's a rough story. On top of that, if you want the full thing, then you'll be diving headfirst into something that you will definitely wish you didn't hear. Some things are better left unknown."

Cynthia looked over at the bed. "Tell me," she said, her eyes meeting Ash's. He took a deep breath and then began his tale.

"First, I'm going to tell you about Miranda and her past, then I'll talk about the other stuff; don't worry, it'll all make sense in the end and it's all related anyhow. Until some time around four years ago, Miranda lived with her family and her tribe in their village."

"Wait a second, how is that possible?" Cynthia interrupted immediately.

"What do you mean?" asked Ash.

"The Eon Tribe is centuries old, Ash. Centuries and centuries." Cynthia crossed her arms. "Why do you think Spencer asked if she was a descendant? Because they don't exist today."

"It's complicated, but I think I can explain this for you," Ash said, now getting up to raid the fridge. He grabbed some snacks and dropped them on the table. "You see, the circumstances I found the village under were, well, not natural. Hmm, I guess the best place to start would be a few months after I left the Temple. I got really, and I mean reaaally lost somewhere in the Hoenn region. All I can tell you is that is was hot and it was really jungle like. Well, I was probably about to die, who can tell when you're in a place like that, when I saw a young girl in some strange clothing walking by." Cynthia raised her eyebrows. "What?" said Ash defensively.

"Nothing. Something just tells me that you ended up scaring her half to death," she said with a shrug. Ash cleared his throat and continued as if she hadn't said anything.

"Right, so I saw this girl, and I ended up tailing her back to a village..." Ash's voice died off when he noticed that Cynthia was shaking her head. "Not buying it, huh? Dammit, _alright_ you win. I called out to the girl and she took off like I was a monster." Ash grumbled as Cynthia nodded in satisfaction. "No more interruptions! Anyway, as I ran after her I felt, something. Nothing around me changed, yet it was completely different. I think what I encountered was something like a time shift."

"Time shift?" repeated Cynthia skeptically.

"Yeah I know it sounds ridiculous but if these people don't exist then why was I able to find an entire village of them? It's a better _and_ cooler theory than anything else. Plus I know time travel exists, only it's just about as rare as it gets."

"Alright, alright, I believe you. Continue," said Cynthia, helping herself to a snack as well.

"So I chased the girl until I got to a village. I knew I wasn't anywhere I understood just from the way they dressed, which by the way was very stylish in a tribal way. I raised a huge commotion by showing up, and suddenly people were trying to catch me. They didn't look very happy with someone discovering their village. The location is a serious secret to all but those who live there. Completely isolated. So they chased me and I ran. I was at the top of the village; and by top I mean altitude. It was a really strange design, just because it was built over such a harsh area of land. The village was built by a mad carpenter to be sure. Anyway, after being chased around top of the village, I quickly made my way to the bottom of the village. Yep! You got it!" Ash added in false cheer, as Cynthia's eyes went wide in understanding.

"Were you okay?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah, it wasn't a reaaally long fall, and I hit a lot of stuff on the way down. But, that's not important. The most important part is where I landed." Ash jerked his thumb at Miranda.

"Not on her...?"

"Thank god I didn't, otherwise my life would have definitely ended right there. Actually, I ended up landing directly in front of her on my back. There was a commotion everywhere because there was an intruder somewhere near her shrine and I felt like I was in pieces. But I opened my eyes and there was this beautiful girl with really long hair above me, and she's rubbing my head to try and make me feel better or something. I still couldn't move at all. Then the guard burst in and saw me there but they stopped in their tracks because of her." Ash snorted in laughter at the thought, making Cynthia grin.

"Tell me, what happened?"

"Well, think about how this must have sounded from my position at the time. I can't move, I'm nearly unconscious, guards are here to kill me, and I'm looking at this beautiful face; then Miranda bursts out, 'Get out dammit! Can't you see that I'm naked!" Cynthia bit her knuckle to suppress a laugh.

"What an introduction. Apart from that, did she normally go about wearing those clothes from that one time?" asked Cynthia curiously.

"Ah no I think she mentioned that those were typical cold weather clothing? She had her own set of outfits which she's got one of somewhere. I'm sure if you ask, she'll show you." said Ash.

"You said 'her shrine'. Was her family a part of the religious side of the culture? Did they do the ceremonies and such?" Cynthia sat forwards. The more Ash told her the more enraptured she became by everything.

"Not quite. Let me explain a bit about the people first. Now, about the villagers, basically there were eight different groups, you could call them clans, within the village. As I'm sure you could guess, each one represented Eevee or one of its evolutions. Every villager had a tattoo that marked their clan, just like the ones Miranda has; But there are big differences between the villagers' and Miranda's tattoos. Getting a tattoo represented becoming an adult for them. After reaching a certain age and doing something, which varies from clan to clan, a kid got a tattoo somewhere and that was that. Basically, they're normal tattoos. Miranda on the other hand..." Ash paused, unsure how to word what he wanted to say. At one point in the past few years, Ash had done some heavy research to try to understand what Miranda's ability could possibly be from. As expected, the search was almost pointless, yielding no information about it directly.

"Miranda didn't get her tattoos from the villagers, she was born with them," Ash said finally. "That's the mark of their "God"; that the child is an incarnation of one of the eight. But Miranda was different than what the villagers had ever seen before. You see, Miranda has seven siblings, all older than her by few years. Before Miranda was born, her mother who was part of the Eevee clan gave birth to triplets first, then a pair of twins, then another pair of twins. To the villagers it must have been the ultimate sign of a blessing. Each one of the kids was born with a different tattoo. Finally, when Miranda was going to be born, the entire village expected her to have the Eevee tattoo. I can only imagine the commotion her birth caused."

"I see," said Cynthia, looking back at Miranda. "If being born with one tattoo made you an incarnation of that Pokemon God, then having all eight would make her the incarnation of something like, I dunno, an Eon God?" She turned back to Ash and said, "So when you say 'her shrine' it really is _her_ shrine."

Ash nodded. "Still though, she grew up well for what everyone thought of her. When I finally understood what she was to them I was surprised that she wasn't, you know... arrogant, spoiled."

Cynthia took a breath and asked, "So do you have any idea what her power is? It's nature? Actually, do even any of the villagers understand it?"

"I doubt it," said Ash, considering the thought. "They more or less just accept it as the way the world works. It's some kind of link. When we've talked about it she's called it "resonating" with them. She connects with a Pokemon and it grows in strength to a point that literally doesn't make sense. Though despite what that kind of power could have done for the village, none of the 'marked ones' were ever taught about using their power or anything, they just had it. They never used it."

"The Eon Tribe was known for it's peaceful ways. So anyway what's your theory on where the power comes from?" Cynthia pressed.

"Well, you know about the Blue and Red Orbs right?" asked Ash. Cynthia gave Ash a clearly unimpressed look. "Haha, right. Pokemon historian... uhh, sorry." He scratched the back of his head and continued. "Right, so you know that they were made to contain Groudon and Kyogre. In addition to that, they can also be used to control them to a degree."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself," said Cynthia.

"I've seen it happen. It's a long story, but just take my word for it this time. Brock, May, and Max were all there as well, in addition to Lance, who was highly involved. The incident in Hoenn between Kyogre and Groudon isn't really the main point anyway; it's what happened with the orbs. Before the big battle, Pikachu accidentally absorbed the Blue Orb. Yes, as in it merged with him." Ash enforced the statement knowing that Cynthia would be skeptical no matter what he said. "In any case, the markings on the orb appeared on Pikachu's body. He also became enormously powerful. During the battle he was able to deflect Kyogre's Hydro Pump with a Thunderbolt attack. It was one hell of an attack. You see where I'm going with this?"

"Yeah, markings and enormous power. So, do you think that Miranda contains some type of Orb? Or multiple Orbs?" Cynthia asked.

"No, that I know for sure. She was born with those markings. I think this is just something that she will always have." Ash let out a long breath and stood up, moving to get some water and clear the table. Cynthia remained silent, watching as he filled a second glass for her and retook his seat.

"So after I crashed Miranda's roof, she wouldn't let me out of her sight for a while because she thought I was going to get killed by the guard. And so I came to learn that Miranda was seen as the villager's goddess. It was strange at first, but I got used to it after a while. Believe me when I say that she means everything to these people. Not that they blindly followed here anywhere. She was still a fourteen year old girl, so they treated her like one. A girl loved by her village." Ash smiled fondly, lost in memories.

"Eventually, the village came to accept me. I learned a lot about how the clans worked, how to hunt, and how to build a hut. They were really impressed by my cooking ability, thank Brock for that one," Ash added with a grin. Brocks food really was the stuff of legends. "I even spent a lot of time with Miranda's siblings. But..."

"...but" Cynthia pushed.

"The peace didn't last forever. It seems that the village wasn't as hidden as they thought it was. One day, the entire place was expertly raided by an unknown group. The invaders weren't anything like the villagers. They actually had vehicles, machines, and other technology; clearly from my own time. There was a ton of chaos, many of the villagers panicked and tried to run to safety. Pokemon were battling everywhere. The village defense was in disarray. Miranda and her siblings were all being protected, but eventually the attackers made it through to the center of the village where the shrines were. I was with Miranda and the others when I finally saw who was attacking us. At the time I didn't know who they were, but I learned later. It was the Pokemon Hunter Corps." Ash's voice was level, but his tone was laced with suppressed rage.

"I've never heard of them," said Cynthia frowning, but Ash was shaking his head.

"Yes you have, you just don't know what they are. The official name is the Pokemon Hunter Corps or Hunter Corps. You and the rest of the world know them as J's Pokemon Hunters or something like that." Ash said. He took a swig of water as Cynthia burst out,

"J attacked the village!" She flinched and quickly looked over at Miranda, but she showed no signs of waking. Lowering her voice, Cynthia repeated, "Hunter J attacked the village?"

"Nope, J's been dead for years. Well, for all intensive purposes she is anyway..."

"You can't be serious," said Cynthia, keeping her voice low. "How the hell can the one of the world's most wanted criminals have died and there not be a single word of news about it? And what do you mean 'for all intensive purposes'?" She crossed her arms.

"Do you remember that time years ago when Team Galactic made its move on the Lake Guardians? Well, J's ship got destroyed and nobody knew if she was alive or not. Then a while later, it got out that J had survived and her organization was stronger and larger than ever with her new second in command, Vince Korinek. Up to here it's all true but after that things get a bit hazy. Thing is, Vince is actually the mastermind behind the whole thing and is just using the story of J's survival to keep the status quo. Actually, when I think about it, the whole situation is a little amusing," Ash said, chuckling.

"You find Vince Korinek and his work _humoring_?" said Cynthia in distaste.

"Sorry, no that's not what I was specifically referring to. The situation with J; I wasn't finished explaining it. The world thinks she's alive because Korinek purposely spread the info that she was. His plan was to spread the false info essentially to keep the business running as normally as possible. It was a good idea on his part and nobody can deny that it worked perfectly. Vince Korinek controls the Hunters and he believes that he has disposed of her so that she can't interfere with his plans. Now the amusing part to me is the fact that his false info is actually true!"

Cynthia dropped her head in exasperation. "Dammit, Ash," she pleaded, raising her head enough to see him,"Stop contradicting yourself about this kind of stuff. Is she living or not?"

Ash laughed shortly and raised his hands in apology. "Sorry, Cynthia. J is alive."

"Then why did you just say that she was dead?" Cynthia said, rubbing her head.

"Because in a way she is," said Ash. "She doesn't exist now; may come back eventually, but who knows really." Cynthia stared at him and he tapped his head lightly.

"..._Amnesia?_" said Cynthia incredulously. Ash's face lit up.

"Bingo! Don't ask me how, but after whatever Korinek did to her, she got amnesia. Big time." Ash was still grinning, happy that Cynthia had figured it out.

Cynthia looked at him and sighed. "Your sense of humor sucks, you know that?" she said, making Ash laugh again. "How do you even know all of this about J?"

"Actually I was the one who saved her," he said with a shrug.

"You're kidding."

"It's not everyday you stop by a narrow valley river for water and suddenly find a world class criminal floating along," Ash said with good humor. "It actually somewhat coincides with Korinek being in my general area if he was already looking for the Eon Tribe." His smile faded. "But, you have to understand, I mean I was barely sixteen at the time. It was right after I finished helping you out and a few months before I met Miranda. I was still, I don't know, young." Ash sighed heavily and again there was that flash of something in his eyes like he was far older than his years. "I know everything she's ever done to me, let alone what she's done to others, isn't something you just forgive but she was still in danger and I'm a regular person you know?"

"So I managed to grab her before she got into the bigger rapids down river and carried her ashore. It was lucky that the part of the river I was next to was moving so slowly because a little while after I saw her, pokeballs floated after her. I managed to grab all of her stuff. You'd have taken a step back, Cynthia," Ash said, shaking his head. "She was so badly torn up from debris in the river and whatever had happened to her just before. No one deserves that kind of treatment. So I took care of her for a while, nursed her back to health. For the record, I never want to do that for a person again. Do you have any idea what it's like to try to keep someone alive who doesn't even have the strength to chew their own food? Forget about the fact that she wasn't breathing pretty much at all when I pulled her out of the water. Damn woman stole my first through ninth kisses."

Cynthia smiled. She couldn't help it. Listening to Ash rant grumpily about how he had given J CPR then chewed her food for her was both disturbing and endearing. She had to suppress the inexplicable urge to hug him. It was very difficult. Smoothing the smile off of her face she asked, "Was she conscious?"

"Not at first," said Ash with a grimace. "It was really touch and go for a bit but after a little CPR her body seemed to start right back up, though it had absolutely no energy. She was completely helpless. The most movement she did for the first few days was follow me around with her eyes and blink slowly. But eventually she began moving in small amounts. Honestly the hardest part of the whole thing was when she let out Salamance then tried to make him not attack me all without talking. It took her almost two weeks to say something." Ash sighed again before waving a hand in front of his face.

"Anyway, its mundane. She lost her memory and ended up leaving on Salamance's back when she was well enough to travel. I ended up spending nearly a month with her. Haven't seen her since. She's probably forgotten about it after all these years to begin with. Weren't we talking about something else thought?" he asked, scratching his head.

"You still haven't finished your story about the village."

"Ah that's right. Sorry, I know it's a bit careless, but I've come to fully embrace living for the moment," he said in apology.

"I don't hate you for it, so forget about it. So you realized that the village was under attack from the Hunters. Was Korinek the one leading it?" said Cynthia, bring them back on track.

"Yeah, him and his second, Raven Syal. Raven is the chief intelligence officer and Vince's most trusted follower. He's another one you know, just by a different name: Aero." Ash saw that she knew who he was talking about. He continued, "For whatever reason, he's changed his name, but that's his real one. Anyway, during the attack our side didn't start making any headway until Miranda's siblings began to fight as well. They each used their respective Pokemon, and were able to do some damage to the Hunters but they weren't trained at all. Vince became really interested in their powers and put all his focus into getting them. I'm guessing that he must have had some information about the marked ones, to make him search for them. Then he and Raven, I mean Aero, started to capture them."

Ash stood up and paced slightly, still talking. "Finally at some point, the two discovered Miranda and myself. They could tell that I wasn't from around there. I was already worn out from trying to protect Miranda. Pikachu was at his limit too, and Lucario was still recovering in his pokeball."

"From that time? Still?" said Cynthia, shocked. "But this is months later..."

"I couldn't do anything about it. Lucario was asleep until he woke. Miranda and I were backed into a corner. She didn't ever use her Pokemon to battle before. They were more like parts of herself that made her feel complete. That's how she explained it to me at the time. Vince started talking to us about the crazy powers he was seeing and that they looked good for him. The last thing he said was that he had already captured the other ones and that Miranda was the only one left. Whether or not he was telling the truth, I don't know; but Miranda believed him and she absolutely lost it." Ash leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"I'll spare you the details. On the plus side, she managed to save her family, friends, and village. Believe me when I say that Vince and the rest of the Hunters beat a hasty retreat, not that they all managed to make it out of there in one piece." Ash opened his eyes and looked over at the still sleeping Miranda. "Miranda ended up destroying more than half the village before she became like this," he motioned to the bed. "She screamed uncontrollably from the pain that wracked her body every few minutes, every marking that she has on her body flaring in deep color before going back to normal. I was the only one who stayed with her through it. No one, not even her brothers and sisters would come close to her. They were all terrified of her." Ash was clenching his fists in fury.

"Ash," said Cynthia standing up, unsure what to say.

"I understand why they were afraid. I do! I won't deny that I was scared when it was happening, but..." he broke off for a second. "Miranda is such a good natured person! She has a kind of innocence that is so rare in people. She would never want to harm anyone in the village. Just the same, the villages were generally nice people once they got used to me being there. I became good friends with many of them. It's not like Miranda was alone in any way while growing up. Her parents, siblings, friends and everyone else loved her; she was everything to them. Did it all mean nothing?" Cynthia was now standing on the other side of the table, directly in front of Ash, but her legs wouldn't take that final step. Instead she settled for sitting on the edge of the table.

"That 'town of people' that you know who would regret something until they died," she said suddenly. "You were talking about the villagers weren't you?" He nodded, staring at the floor. "What... what happened next?"

Ash let out a breath. He pushed himself off the wall and sat next to her on the table, now speaking calmly. "This is the last part. They wanted her out of the village, believing that she was a demon or fallen god instead of their beloved pure incarnations. I managed to convince them to let her stay until she was able to leave by her own two feet. The Elders all approached me privately with a request: To take Miranda far away where she may live in peace and harm no one. I fought with them and begged for them to reconsider, but there was no convincing them. However at the same time, the elder from the Eevee clan arranged for a group of warriors to 'take care of her' once we were far enough from the village. Apparently it was to save her soul. Complete bull if you ask me," Ash spat, scowling. "The night before we left, Miranda told me about what she heard. She was so lonely, it hurts to think about it. I swore to myself that I'd let no harm come to her as long as I lived. Fortunately I had a new ally."

"You mean...!"

"That's right, better late than never. That day I found out that Lucario had finally recovered well enough to wake up and was now ready for anything. Miranda and I left the next day. We were tailed for a day, then I made my move. Lucario totally overpowered them and I pretty much told them that if they came after her again I wouldn't let them live. Pikachu said I was pretty scary." Cynthia snorted in laughter. "What?"

"Sorry it's hard to imagine your face looking anything remotely scary." She rested a hand on his cheek for a second before pinching it lightly. "You're too cute."

"Bah, shut up," said Ash feeling embarrassed. He nudged her sideways with his arm. Cynthia playfully returned the push causing Ash, who was at the edge of the table, to topple over onto the floor.

"Ash!" Cynthia shouted in alarm, leaning over the edge of the table and looking down at him. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Ash stared at her, looking puzzled, then started to laugh. Cynthia found herself laughing as well. They remained there laughing for a little while, until Ash looked behind him.

"Oh." Cynthia looked as well and saw that Miranda was sitting up in her bed, staring at them. She looked extremely nervous.

"Miranda!" shouted Cynthia happily, pushing herself off the table and running over to the bed. She embraced the bemused girl in relief. "We were so worried about you, thank god you're alright." Miranda didn't know how to respond.

"You, you were?" she said slowly. The tone of her voice made Cynthia want to cry.

"Of course we were, right Ash? Uhh, Ash?" Cynthia looked over at Ash who was still on the floor next to the table, though this time on his stomach. It was then that she noticed the two foot-shaped impressions on the back of his shirt. "Oops, I stepped on him." Cynthia said blankly. Ash looked at them.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Miranda, I am really glad you're okay." he stood up and brushed his clothes off. "You can fill us in on what happened later. I need to go get a few things. Gardevoir!" Ash called, and instantly she appeared at his side. "To the stadium first," he said. Gardevoir nodded automatically, brushing some dust off of the back of his shirt. Miranda managed a small giggle at the sight. Looking at her Ash said, "You know, you should really thank Cynthia. She took care of you right away while I was in the middle of a battle. She's been here since." They vanished.

The room was silent for a little while after Ash left. Miranda was still being held by Cynthia, but she gave no signs of letting go any time soon.

"Is that true?" said Miranda softly, her head leaning against Cynthia's chest. "You took care of me?"

"...Yeah. You were in a lot of pain and you had a bad fever. Speaking of that..." she pressed the back of her hand to Miranda's forehead, then put her palm on the girl's back under her shirt. "Wow you've cooled down a lot." She grabbed her face and brought the girls eyes to her own. "Yep your eyes are back to that cute brown they always are. Anyway, Ash was battling in the tournament at the time, but he came over as soon as he was done." Cynthia looked down at Miranda who was looking sideways, avoiding her eye.

"Did...did you see where I..." Miranda's voice broke, wavering slightly. Cynthia could feel her shaking.

"Yeah, I did," said Cynthia softly.

"Now you know. I'm a monster." Miranda's voice was flat. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Don't be stupid! You're not a monster so don't talk like that!" Cynthia said fiercely holding Miranda tight enough to make her squeak. Easing her hug, Cynthia continued, "And besides, I don't hug people I'm afraid of. I only hug people I like," she added in a voice that Miranda could only hear due to her heightened senses. She shut her eyes tightly. Cynthia looked at the younger girl. After everything she had just heard, she felt that she could see parts of Miranda that she hadn't noticed earlier. Her heart hurt. It hurt for this girl who had been through so much. Cynthia cupped Miranda's cheek with her hand. "Don't worry, it'll all be okay."

Meanwhile, Ash stood in front of the information board that had the match-ups listed. It was finally time for the fifth round. The Top 16!

_"Are you confident?"_ came Gardevoir's voice. She waited for him to finish, floating lazily to one side. Ash turned to her and said,

"Please, when am I not confident? Wait, don't answer that," he added quickly before she could respond.

They returned to the apartment, finding Cynthia and Miranda sitting at the kitchen table laughing. They stopped when Ash walked over.

"So what's the list?" asked Cynthia. Ash sat down at the end of the table.

"Well, here's the people who made it to the top sixteen. There's me and you, obviously. Then there's Steven, Dion, Flint, Brandon, Wallace, Lance, Drake, and uhhh, seven other people I don't know." Ash finished with a small laugh. His smile faded under the glare Cynthia was giving him. "Ahh, right, let me go write it all down. Hehehe."

Five minutes later Ash returned. Miranda and Cynthia rolled their eyes at each other.

"Alright, the others are, Cliff Exford, Delsie Cooper, Joey Rauner, Corey Spina, Ines Roth, Skye Hardway, and Nick Cutter. Like I said, I have no idea who any of them are. But anyway, here's the battles. Steven and Delsie, Cliff and Ines, Brandon and Skye, Wallace and Nick, Lance and Drake; Cynthia, you're facing Corey, and lucky me I get to face Flint. God this is going to be hard," he said tiredly.

"I'm facing Corey Spina?" asked Cynthia, confirming it to be sure.

"Yeah, do you know him?" asked Ash.

"Yes. Yes I do."

"Well, Round Five starts in two days so, rest up or you might lose," said Ash, leaning back in his chair.

"Keep that lofty attitude up and Flint will crush you. Trust me," Cynthia shot back.

"Good luck to both of you. Don't lose," said Miranda softly, smiling. They both looked at her.

"Of course!" they said at once.


	7. Ash vs Flint

It was just after daybreak. The sky was getting brighter and bluer by the second, but as Flint walked into the arena he found that the entire stadium was still covered in heavy shadow. The high walls of the stadium blocked the morning sun like tall mountains on a horizon. He walked slowly forward, scanning the thousands of empty seats that surrounded him. It was nice, in a way; Flint took in the peaceful atmosphere, his mind reflecting the stadium's calm. It was then that he realized that he wasn't alone.

On the other side of the battlefield was a person. While it was still too dark for Flint to make out who it could possibly be, he could see that the person's head was tilted toward the sky, gazing eastward.

Flint began to approach the stranger. He was curious as to who else would be here at this time. However, before he had taken ten steps, Flint broke into a grin. It didn't take a genius to figure out what kind of a person wore a cap and had a Pikachu riding shotgun on his shoulder.

"So, are you here to watch the sunrise too?" asked Ash as Flint finally got close. Ash and Pikachu both kept their gaze on the sky. Flint suppressed a chuckle. Of course, Ash had known that he was there from the start.

"I'll give you points for coolness, but I think that your timing may be a tad bit off. You know that the sun is already up, right?" Flint took a spot next to Ash and imitated him.

"You know what I mean," said Ash dryly. "The trainer's sunrise...and here we go."

The three of them stood together and watched as the top of the stadium behind them began to light up. They didn't plan it before hand, nor was there really much meaning to it in the end. The two trainers watched the line of blazing sunlight get closer and overtake them, now filling the stadium with a radiant display of color.

"Well, that was nice. Can we sit down somewhere now? My back is killing me." Flint stretched and walked a short distance to the center of the battlefield. He turned and sat, motioning for Ash to join him.

"Yeah, yeah. Ruin the moment," Ash grumbled. He was not angry though. Taking a seat opposite of Flint, Ash realized that they had positioned themselves on their respective sides of the field. He met Flint's eyes and he could tell that they were thinking the same thing: This battle has already started.

"So," said Flint, "you've finally grown up huh?"

"Yeah, unlike you I might add," Ash retorted with a grin. "It's been a while though, hasn't it."

"True. I'll admit, you're not the same kid I crushed all those years ago." Flint paused after saying this, regarding Ash with a questioning look. "Do you have an answer?"

"I do," said Ash adopting an innocent look, "but could you repeat the question for me? It's been so long since-"

"Gah, shut up," said Flint as Ash laughed. "But we do have plenty of time before the main event so hell, why not? The first time we battled, the last fight was Infernape versus Infernape. So, why was my Pokemon on a completely different level from yours?"

Sure, it sounded like a degrading question, but for Ash it had been one of the few things that made him realize how to change and improve, following the battle with Paul. In fact, Flint had asked him this question before the Sinnoh Conference even started; yet it wasn't until months later that he understood it.

"Fighting experience," Ash said simply. Flint's grin widened.

"Good answer," he said. He pulled a coin from his pocket and began flipping it. "So did you get any?"

Ash resisted the temptation to have Pikachu shock the guy. "Yeah, I think so," he said finally. "But I'll let you be the judge of that later."

"Oh?" said Flint loftily. "Haha, Ash don't get so worked up. I'm only messing with ya. Being in the top sixteen kind of speaks for itself, you know."

"Finally, some recognition," Ash said jokingly. "It's about time someone realized how good I am."

"Right, right," said Flint laughing. "If that's true then tell me how you plan on- what's up Pikachu?" Pikachu had walked over to Flint suddenly and was now tugging on his sleeve.

"Pika-pi, pika," he said to Flint who was understandably baffled.

"Uhh, Ash some assistance? What's up?" Flint asked. Pikachu looked at Ash and chattered at him quickly, pointing at Flint. Ash laughed.

"Ahh, sorry Flint. Pikachu wants the apple in your pocket. He's hungry," Ash explained. Flint was surprised, but pulled out the apple he had grabbed off of his kitchen table before he left that morning.

"Here you go," he said handing the apple to the starry-eyed Pokemon. Turning back to Ash, he said, "You know, I've seen you talk to your Pokemon before; I mean, if you look closely enough, you'll find that a lot of people actually do it; but, I always figured that it was just good interpretation that came from being with your Pokemon long enough... You actually understand them don't you?"

Ash wasn't surprised by Flint's reaction. The few actual cases of people understanding exactly what a Pokemon said could usually be explained by some sort of special circumstance. Of course, few people actually knew about them to begin. "I know, it's pretty strange, but I understand Pokemon pretty well. Obviously being around them a lot does make a huge difference, but I think the main reason for me is because of Aura." Flint was still confused.

"Yeah, that makes sense because Aura is supposed to be within everything or something like that right? But I thought that would only help you with the few Pokemon that are big in Aura." Flint was trying to ask his question without tripping himself up, but it was clear to Ash that he didn't pretend to know any more than he did...which was practically nothing.

Ash sighed, "I don't really get much of it myself. It's not like Aura gives you word for word translations of poketalk. Just a read on their emotions and desires. Body language and just how well you understand Pokemon to begin with make up the rest of it. Of course I've known Pikachu here for ten years. Anyway," he added, "you were saying something before?"

Flint looked blankly at Ash then said, "Oh yeah! Well I was just wondering how you planned on beating me today. You know, your odds are looking pretty grim."

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Ash practically shouted. Flint was holding back laughter, but Ash could tell that he was being serious. "I'm going to take your Pokemon down one by one until you have none left. Simple," he finished in a matter-of-fact tone which wiped the smirk off of Flint's face.

"Well, I'll give you credit for getting this far without having to use more than three Pokemon. Only Cynthia and Steven have done as well." He gave Ash a curious look. "Pikachu, Armaldo, Gardevoir. It's an interesting mix; makes me wonder what your other three are." Ash just shrugged.

"I guess from the outside it does look a little grim for me. Fire Pokemon are all tough to deal with, no matter what it is. Still, I'm sure I won't have to reveal all of my Pokemon just yet. Strategy, you know?"

Flint snorted and stood up. Ash did the same, Pikachu jumping to his shoulder.

"Just don't get too confident, Ash. It'll get you burned." Flint gave Ash a grin that clearly meant he was being serious.

"Well, because you're being so nice to me I'll give you some advice too," Ash said, meeting Flint's gaze with his own. "Don't underestimate my Pokemon, Flint. They're not afraid of fire..." Ash turned and began walking to his end of the battlefield.

"...and neither am I."

XXXXX

Hours later, the stands were completely packed and completely noisy. The excitement that preceded battles was already in full swing. However, from the center of the arena, Ash and Flint stood in relative peace. Everything about the time and place was almost as it always was just before a battle started... almost. The big, and immediately obvious, difference was that both trainers stood beside there first Pokemon of the battle. Ash stood beside Gardevoir, who simply floated there serenely. Opposite them, Flint was flanked by his Houndoom, one of his newer additions to the lineup. Ash looked at Houndoom, thinking back to the battle he had watched Flint have against Volkner, as well as the little bit that Cynthia had told him about Flint the night before.

"It won't be anything like you've ever faced before, Ash," she had said, crossing her arms. "I know you saw his match, so I don't need to tell you how strong he is, but what you don't know is that he's been working on that team for years. It's become his mission to make the best team of fire Pokemon in the world 'that will beat Volkner's best team of electric Pokemon in the world'." Cynthia sighed and said, "From what I've seen of your battling so far, I'd say you two are about even. So don't lose."

Shaking himself back to the present, Ash glanced at Gardevoir. The calm expression she always had was unchanged. He smirked in spite of himself, eyes returning to the Houndoom, who looked similarly relaxed. Ash could now see the judge approaching them; the battle would begin shortly.

The dog will lose, Ash thought.

_"Indeed he will,"_ came the silent reply.

XXXXX

"Well, here we go. It's about to start everyone!" Brock's voice got the group's attention, and they turned to face the arena. Cynthia and Miranda had saved a large number of seats right at the front for as many of Ash's friends that could fit.

"Yes, this definitely looks like it's going to be fun. Great seats by the way," said Scott, seemingly appearing from nowhere and causing many in the group to jump in surprise.

"Scott, you really shouldn't sneak up on people like that," said Miranda, grinning. She had known that he was there the entire time, but chose to leave be.

"Can somebody please tell me why Ash is using Gardevoir against a dark type Pokemon? If he doesn't swap right away then this is going to be quick, no contest," Max said to the group at large, cutting Scott off from whatever he was about to say. Miranda sighed slightly and rested her chin on the barrier that divided the stands and the arena.

"I know," she said lazily, "No contest at all... poor doggie."

"What? But-" he was cut off by May.

"I know, I don't get it either, but it's Ash so who knows and it's starting!"

XXXXX

"Begin!"

"Gardevoir, Calm Mind," said Ash at once. Moments later came the reply.

"Flamethrower, Houndoom!" shouted Flint. A large blast of flame shot at Gardevoir, who teleported immediately.

"Good! Now Charge Beam!" Gardevoir unleashed her powered up attack but Houndoom was ready.

"Smog!" At flint's command, Houndoom filled the arena with a dark cloud, making it impossible to see or aim. Gardevoir's Charge Beam went wide of its mark. Flint winced slightly as he heard the distinct sound of the attack cleaving a chunck out of the arena floor. He wasn't too eager to actually see the damage.

"Houndoom, you know what to do! Take her out!" Flint shouted into the darkness. Ash said nothing. As flamethrower attacks began penetrating the smog, Ash sent Gardevoir a silent command.

"_Double Team please. Make this quick._"

"_Of course,"_ was Gardevoir's reply.

Gardevoir suddenly appeared outside the smog near the edge of the cloud, waiting for some sign of Houndoom. Flint spotted her.

"Houndoom, she's outside the smog! Attack!" he shouted. Houndoom emerged from the top of the cloud in a jump and completely engulfed Gardevoir in flames. The crowd cheered in excitement but quickly were just as confused as Houndoom who had landed with Gardevoir no where in sight.

"It's over," said Ash. Gardevoir emerged from the smog and flew straight at Houndoom who quickly shot fire. But this Gardevoir wasn't real either. Just as he attacked the copy, the real Gardevoir appeared at his side, a glowing blue mass between her hands. The point blank attack took Houndoom in his side and carried him straight into the smog, dissipating it as he passed through it, and into the opposite wall of the arena. The crowd roared its approval. As Flint recalled Houndoom, he looked over at Ash. Gardevoir was at his side again, exactly as she had been earlier. It almost looked like she didn't move to begin with.

"We're just getting started. Macargo, give us some support!" said Flint tossing a pokeball high into the air. The moment Macargo materialized on the field, it began to get hot. _Hot_ hot.

"Begin!"

"Gardevoir!" Ash said instantly, his palm out flat to the ground. Gardevoir immediately teleported above the arena charging her attack.

"Macargo, defend quickly!" shouted Flint, just in time. As Macargo braced itself, Gardevoir brought both palms downward. The stadium shook as the center of the arena was crushed by psychic energy. Within seconds, the arena featured a large crater of flattened rock. As the crowd made obvious sounds of shock, Ash recalled Gardevoir. As expected, Flint's Macargo was still quite able to fight, and he needed Gardevoir for insurance later on.

"Armaldo, Water Gun, it's going to get really hot!" Ash shouted, throwing his pokeball high. While the crowd was still off balance from Gardevoir's incredible show of power, Flint was not.

"Macargo, shake it off and melt that Pokemon!" he thundered.

Armaldo emerged in the air and let loose a powerful Water Gun attack. Fortunately Ash had predicted what Flint would do. Macargo built up pressure then unleashed a devistating Lava Plume attack. Ash and Flint both had to jump back several feet to avoid the brunt of the heat. The crushed ground was quickly becoming redder in general, and bursts of lava shot at Armaldo from below. Without the Water Gun, it would have been over right there. Armaldo's attack cooled and hardened various places of the rock, enabling him to avoid the attack and land safely. He was still engulfed in the extreme heat though. Ash had to end this small battle quickly.

"Water Gun, give it all you've got!" he shouted, desperate to help Armaldo.

"Push it aside! Ancient Power!" Flint shouted confidently. Macargo's attack did just that, breaking the Water Gun and landing a direct hit on Armaldo.

"Armaldo, hang in there!" Ash shouted, ready to pull him out in a heartbeat. He had never expected Flint's Macargo to be so powerful. But he didn't recall him, for at that moment, Armaldo planted his feet and shot a sudden bullet of blue at Macargo. Unable to dodge it, Macargo took the attack full on, instantly fainting. A second later, Armaldo sank to his knees, unconscious. The attack dissipated much of the lingering heat from the Lava Plume.

"Both Armaldo and Macargo are unable to battle!" shouted the Judge. Flint shook his head in wonder. Where did that attack come from? It was clear that Ash's Pokemon had a lot of inner strength and it would be costly to underestimate any of them. Meanwhile, Ash was staring at Armaldo's pokeball with exasperation.

"Water Pulse... really, Armaldo?" he said with a sigh. "At least tell me when you learn new moves. Especially if they are powerful ones." Ash laughed, putting Armaldo back on his belt. "Good work, Armaldo. You did really well."

Ash looked at the arena. After the Lava Plume attack followed by the high powered Water Pulse, the field looked even more flat and solid than when they first started. There were some odd shapes that protruded form the ground here and there and some slight slopes, but overall a flat field.

"Camerupt, let's continue shall we?" said Flint with a grin, tossing a pokeball. Flint's Camerupt was just as strong as his Macargo. They weren't exactly what one would initially think when someone mentioned an Elite Four battle team, but Flint _did_ create his team to beat Volkner's so having two extremely solid fire-rock/ground Pokemon was perfect for that. Fortunately for Ash, his only difficultly would be taking them out without running wearing down his own Pokemon. Flint's remaining three were no joke.

"Lucario, time for some exercise," Ash said purposely to agitate Flint; ineffective to say the least.

"About time," Lucario said gruffly. He looked at the Camerupt and then threw Ash a flat look. "You're kidding right?" Ash sighed and said quietly,

"Look, I'm sorry, but please don't be difficult. Just take him out and I promise the next battle will be a real one. Champion level. You remember what I said about what that would be like-"

"Right, right," he interrupted, turning back to his opponent. "Just now that I'm out, you don't have to keep me in there all the time right? I'm not an "unknown factor" anymore."

"Promise," Ash said grinning. Lucario was hard to figure out for most, but to Ash it was quite easy; like a book. Ash shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. The two Pokemon stepped up into the field and the judge gave the signal.

"Camerupt, let's shake things up!" shouted Flint, grinning as he said it. The last time Ash heard that he could swear that the stadium nearly collapsed.

"Lucario, keep it simple. Move and hit."

"Understood."

The Earthquake was a devisting move. The ground cracked in multiple places and the crowd screamed like they thought the stands were going to collapse. Lucario wobbled, the ground was shaking so much.

"Lucario, Bone Rush! Get your balance!" shouted Ash as best he could over the sound of grinding rock. The bone staff materialized in Lucario's hand and he drove the end of it into the ground, hanging on to it to prevent himself from falling. The ground under him cracked and a fissure opened, causing him to fall.

"Crush him!" shouted Flint. The ground surged closed and the shaking finally stopped. No sound was made as everyone waited to see what would happen next.

"Close one, partner," Ash said, brushing dust off of his pants. The crowd finally noticed Lucario standing next to Ash. He had used Extremespeed to escape the earth's grasp. "Still unimpressed by your opponent?"

"Slightly less. I'll begin now," he said, spinning the bone staff. Flint was blinking at Lucario, sure that he had seen him get crushed seconds ago. If one thing could be said, Lucario was fast.

"Camerupt, take a defensive position and use Flamethrower!" he said quickly, not waiting for anything else to happen. Lucario dodged the attack easily, quickly making it into close quarters. Bone staff whirling at a blinding speed, Camerupt was hit in a series of staff combos, knocking the Pokemon completely off balance.

"Now! Close Combat!" shouted Ash. The staff vanished and Camerupt was pummled with the heavy attack. Lucario chained the Close Combat into a Force Palm, causing the last hit to send Camerup flying across the field and crashing to a halt.

"Camerupt is unable to battle! Lucario wins."

"I'm done for now," said Lucario, coming back to Ash. "Let my next opponent be someone who will give me a challenge." Lucario suddenly returned to his pokeball.

"Lucario return!" Ash's quick action saved him from Lucario being defeated by some form of forfeit, however that was the last thing on anyone's mind. The crowd, the judge, and Flint, were all lost for words at what had just happened. Seconds later, the crowd burst into normal, albeit loud, chaos. "Nice one, idiot," Ash said to the pokeball. He could almost hear the reply, 'Have fun.'

XXXXXX

"Are you _serious?_" said Max in a small voice. Ash was now battling Flint's Magmortar with Pikachu, but he couldn't see it. His mind was still trying to wrap around the insanity he had just seen.

"Oh dear, Luca's grouchy," said Miranda said childishly. She grinned and glanced at Max who, along with the rest of the group minus Cynthia, were staring at her in disbelief. "Yeah, Luca's a badass."

"I can see that... wait, _Luca_?" Brock said incredulously. Cynthia chuckled darkly.

"I wouldn't call him that to his face if I were you. He won't like it." She raised her eyebrows at Miranda and continued, "Don't tell me he actually lets you call him that."

"Not really, but sometimes he just ignores it. Why do you ask?" she responded, tuning out the chatter that was directed at her from the rest of the group. Cynthia smiled smugly.

"I'm the one who gave him that nickname. It's cute," she said, crossing her arms in a satisfied way. For some reason, it felt really good to have a one-up on Miranda, even if it was only to do with one of Ash's Pokemon.

_'Dammit,'_ thought Miranda, annoyed at Cynthia's winner-like attitude. But a loud explosion instantly made her forget about that, drawing her full attention back to the battle at hand...

XXXXXX

"Pikachu, hang in there! Grab on to him!" shouted Ash. Flint's Magmortar made Paul's look like a Magby. Pikachu was fairing badly against Magmortar, but due to Lucario's action, he couldn't pull him back. Still, Pikachu wasn't weak.

"Back off, Magmortar!" Flint shouted, but Magmortar was unable to get clear of Pikachu's Discharge attack. Pikachu grinned in triumph. Static could be seen dancing along Magmortar's body. He fainted, completely drained of power. Discharge was an incredible move by the little mouse Pokemon, but unless he had a boost from some lightning or another electric Pokemon then it would take too much out of him.

"You did great buddy," Ash said, as the judge made the call. He decided to hang onto Pikachu until he could put him down safely. Pikachu stirred, but remained unconscious, now asleep. Pikachu had an astonishingly fast rate of recovery for such a small Pokemon. Ash figured that it probably had to do with the wells of electricity that resided in the little guy. Ash pulled out a Pokeball and turned to walk back to his position at the edge of the battlefield. "Gardevoir, end this."

XXXXX

Flint was finally down to two, albeit famously powerful, Pokemon. Amazingly, Ash still had four, two of which had never been seen before in the tournament. The crowd was eager to see how this was going to end.

"Blaziken, I'm counting on you," said Flint, throwing his next pokeball. Ash frowned at Flint's second most powerful Pokemon. Gardevoir was incredibly tough, however she wasn't fresh and Flint's Blaziken had an incredible amount of fighting experience. Far more than any of his own Pokemon did which was already considerable. The same could be said for Flint's Infernape. He honestly didn't know how this would turn out.

"_Are you ready?"_ Ash quickly shot at Gardevoir, hovering beside him.

"_Worry not, I'm fine,"_ she responded evenly.

"Begin!"

"Blaziken, be careful. She can appear anywhere at any time! Double Kick!" Flint commanded, pointing at Gardevoir.

"Do it," said Ash. Gardevoir teleported behind Blaziken and used a quick Psychic attack, lifting the fire Pokemon and throwing him directly at the nearest wall. Blaziken, however, remained calm. Sticking out his arm, he scraped at the ground, enabling him to hit the wall feet first, unharmed. The wall buckled slightly, cracking then he shot straight back at Gardevoir, taking her by surprise. Unable to teleport out of the way, she automatically went to block the attack with a Reflect. Blaziken's Double Kick finally connected with something. The force of the kick pushed Gardevoir back, making her lose balance.

"Again!" shouted Flint. Lightning fast, Blaziken launched another Double Kick. Gardevoir used reflect to block again, but it was a feint. Before Ash or Gardevoir knew what was happening, Blaziken changed the second kick into a Brick Break, ripping through Gardevoir's reflect like paper and connecting with her chest. Ash was unable to help Gardevoir at all. Blaziken gave her no opening to attack from, knowing that if she could recover she might be able to turn the tide of the battle.

"Gardevoir! You have to get as close as you can! Conserve your energy!" Ash shouted, trying to assist. The battle wore on as the two exchanged blows, however as it continued, Gardevoir was only getting in a small number of attacks compared to the barrage from Blaziken. The large Pokemon had the advantage of an extremely powerful physical build behind him. It was only a matter of time...

XXXXX

"Oh I can't watch this!" Miranda moaned softly, leaning against Cynthia for support. Cynthia looked at the girl in concern, all thoughts of their recent squabble aside.

"What's wrong? I know it's tough, but as a Pokemon trainer, watching the Pokemon you love get hammered kind of goes with the territory. You know that..." But Miranda cut her off before she could continue.

"But it's my fault that Gardevoir is getting beaten up out there!" she said, looking at the backs of her hands. "You don't understand," she said softly as Cynthia opened her mouth to argue. "Gardevoir has been looking after me for the past few days without resting at all. She hasn't been to the Pokemon Center at all since over two battles ago!" Miranda clenched her fists in anger. "It's my fault she's so tired!"

"Well if that's the case, then stop doing things that make people worry about you," Cynthia whispered in her ear, putting an arm around her shoulder. "It's not your fault, stupid, so stop thinking it is. Gardevoir, Ash, and I all worry about you because we like you. And we look after you because we want to." Miranda still looked depressed. Cynthia let out a huff. "Look if it makes you feel better, then just tell Gardevoir that you're sorry after the battle. Okay?"

"You're mean," muttered Miranda, but not angrily. She relaxed into Cynthia's hold and set her eyes back on the battle, determined to watch what she had caused to the end.

XXXXXX

The crowd let out a collective gasp and cheer as Blaziken connected a fierce Blaze Kick with Gardevoir's side. Anticipating it, Ash was already running to intercept Gardevoir before she slammed into a wall. The force of the impact sent Ash backwards several feet, falling back and landing against the wall hard. The crowd gave him a semi-loud cheer for protecting his Pokemon. The rest of the crowd was cheering for Blaziken who was worn out, but still able to fight.

"Gardevoir, that's enough," said Ash as he got to his feet, helping her up as well. She ignored him and began moving to Blaziken, who waited for instructions from Flint. Ash wanted to stop this before it got any further out of hand. "Judge! I withdraw Gardevoir from the battle!" Many in the crowd groaned in disappointment, but Ash couldn't care less what they thought.

"_I was going to win,"_ said Gardevoir, sounding annoyed. Her psychic voice was clearly tired. She faltered and dropped to the ground, no longer able to keep her self afloat. Ash was at her side in a heartbeat, steadying her.

"Yeah, whatever you say." Ash looked over at Pikachu, who sat at the edge of the battlefield, watching them tiredly. "I need to get Pikachu to Miranda and Cynthia, the arena is going to become really dangerous shortly. Wait, Gardevoir!" But no sooner had the words left his mouth, had Gardevoir teleported to Pikachu, picked him up and teleported them to Miranda and Cynthia, handing him over.

Cursing to himself, Ash walked back to the edge of the battlefield, throwing out his next Pokemon.

"As one of those contest girls would say, though I honestly can't remember which; Spotlight," Ash said with a small sigh, not even looking where he threw the pokeball. His eyes were still locked on Gardevoir, who was probably having a short chat with the girls. Human or Pokemon, girls were girls... no exceptions.

There was a loud buzz of excitement from the crowd. Ash had finally cleared the mystery behind one of his yet to be known Pokemon. A Zangoose.

He yawned and stretched, swiping at the air whimsically.

"It's a battle, Zangoose," said Ash without looking at the apparently carefree Pokemon. Zangoose didn't do anything that showed that he even registered Ash's words, but Ash knew that he was ready to battle. "Gardevoir, you have to stop teleporting around! You. Are. Tired!" Ash continued to Gardevoir who had just rejoined them. "You can't-" but he stopped as Zangoose moved up to her looking her over.

"_Don't worry about it, Zangoose, I'm just a little tired. Just a little!"_ she shot at Ash, who held up his hands in defeat. _"Just do your best. The one after this one is much...much..."_

"Stronger," she softly finished aloud, unable to maintain her telepathy. Ash recalled her before she fell over. Ash took off his cap and rubbed his head in frustration.

"Dammit, she's always taking care of us, but she never lets us take care of her," he said annoyed, turning to face the battlefield. "We're going to have to set her straight one of these days. Let's do this, Zangoose!"

The judge looked at Flint who gave a nod. He had allowed Ash time to take care of Pikachu and Gardevoir out of respect. Now it was time to battle. At least the Zangoose, while very unexpected, looked a bit lazy. They could take advantage of that. Plus as an added bonus, Zangoose was a normal type Pokemon so this would be much more quick.

"Both sides are ready. Begin!"

"Double Kick, let's go!" shouted Flint right away. Blaziken closed in at top speed.

"He's tired. Take him down, nice and clean," said Ash calmly. Just as Blaziken lifted his leg to deliver the first kick, Zangoose made his move. He sprang forward, spinning, and hit Blaziken's supporting leg with a solid Iron Tail attack. The attack easily toppled the off balance Pokemon, causing him to fall backwards. Using his momentum, Zangoose slammed the side of his right claws into Blaziken's back, sending him rolling off to the side. Zangoose stood, staring at his unconscious opponent, as the white glow of the Crush Claw attack faded from his claws.

"Excellent, Zangoose," said Ash, ignoring the now familiar excitement that followed most of the moves that his and Flint's Pokemon used. Flint tossed out his Infernape and Ash grinned. They hadn't seen anything yet.

"Incredible, Ash," shouted Flint in good spirits, despite being down one Pokemon to four. "Just what I'd expect from a Frontier Brain!"

The stadium went dead quiet. Someone sneezed way in the back of the stands and it was followed by a quick hushing noise from the crowd. Ash sighed again. He knew something ridiculous like this would happen eventually.

"I really don't know what you're talking about," he said, speaking normally because there was little reason to shout now.

"What, it's not?" asked Flint. Ash could practically feel every eye on himself now.

Ash put a hand to his forehead tiredly as he fished in an inside pocket for something. Finding it he brought it out. There was a flash as the sunlight hit the coin sized object, the pure gold gleaming in the bright sunlight. Ash flicked it into the air then caught it expertly holding it up at Flint.

"You see this, Flint? Yeah, you've got it," Ash said grinning as Flint realized what it was. "If you win, it's yours. That's the rules after all. Beat a Brain, and you get their Symbol." Ash returned it to his pocket. "Shall we continue?"

Now the stadium exploded. Not like anyone could do anything but jabber with their friends and people in the seats near them. Ash figured that Scott would be trying to make a hasty escape if it wasn't for the fact that this happened before the battle was over. Still, Ash was glad to get that out of the way. What a bothersome thing to keep quiet about all that time. Both trainers gave themselves a shake and focused on the task at hand.

"Continue with the battle! Begin!"

"Infernape/Zangoose, fight!" shouted Flint and Ash in unison. Both Pokemon rushed in at once.

"Mach Punch! Hit him hard!" shouted Flint.

"Dodge and use Poison Jab!" Ash responded. To Infernape's astonishment, Zangoose leaned out of the way of the punch, dodging it my a hair. Similarly, Zangoose was surprised when Infernape neutralized his attack by warding it off to the side, letting it slide harmlessly passed. The two Pokemon sprang apart, now looking at each other with new respect. This was a true fight.

"Vacuum Wave!" said Flint quickly hoping to catch Zangoose off guard. Infernape instantly made a vicious punch directly in front of him. Nothing happened for a moment, then Zangoose was thrown back, landing near a wall. Instinct had saved him by putting up his arms defensively. Before Zangoose could recover Infernape fired of a series of similar punches without moving, all at Zangoose.

"Zangoose move! NOW!" Ash shouted. Zangoose instantly began moving rapidly along the edge of the arena. Moments later the wall was riddled with fist shaped impacts. As Zangoose ran low to the ground, avoiding the barrage of Vacuum Waves, sparks began to build up along his left and right claws which he dragged across the wall and ground respectively.. "Do it now!" Ash shouted, seeing what he was planning. Zangoose changed directions so fast that Infernape was still punching along the wall trying to hit him when he made a beeline for him.

"Ready!" shouted Flint, with barely a second to understand what was happening.

"Lightning Claw!" cried Ash. Zangoose took a cross slash at Infernape who jumped up to avoid it. The twin arcs of lightning carved through the ground like butter.

"Infernape, Flamethrower!" Infernape twisted in the air to face the passing Zangoose and let loose a stream of flame, point blank. Digging a claw into the ground, Zangoose changed directions instantly, dodging the flames and after another sharp turn launched himself at Infernape, who was just landing, attacking with a Fury Swipes that could only be considered a brutally fast hurricane of Slash attacks. Infernape was able to dodge most of the attacks, but he was still hit numerous times. It was during this attack that Flint's fighting experience finally paid off big time.

"Counter now!" he shouted suddenly at the exact moment when Zangoose slackened in his pace. Infernape immediately countered with a powerful Close Combat attack. The super effective move greatly damaged Zangoose, leaving him dazed momentarily. Infernape used the opportunity to throw Zangoose at the nearby wall with great force, following him with a huge Flamethrower.

"Zangoose!" Ash shouted, but that was all he needed to say. Half way to the wall, Zangoose drove his right claw into the ground causing him to flip over wildly. Using this, he took a huge swipe at the flame coming right at him, splitting it in half with a Razor Wind attack. Due to the Flamethrower blocking his view, Infernape was unaware of the Razor Wind until it hit him dead on. The attack pushed him far back but he was able to remain standing. Zangoose landed lightly on his feet, unharmed from the throw. Neither Pokemon were willing to let up. It was time to end it.

"Infernape! Flare Blitz! Show them the meaning of the word power!" thundered Flint, pointing at Zangoose. Infernape lit up in flame like a star.

"Zangoose, Fire and Ice," Ash shouted. It was the one of the most powerful combined moves that Zangoose knew. Both Pokemon took off for each other. Infernape was a bullet from the start while Zangoose was slightly slower, running on two feet, his claws occasionally dragging on the ground because he was leaning so far forward. They sped up and the lines drawn by Zangoose's claws suddenly changed to red and blue. About fifty feet from each other, Zangoose made his move. A bullet of a Quick Attack, he vanished. All that could be seen were the two lines which suddenly sped up exponentially, zigzagging sharply, and almost at once intersecting with Infernape.

Then there was stillness. The stadium was silent. Both Pokemon stood facing away from each other, not moving. Ash's Pokemon was distinctly charred, potentially even burned. Zangoose's claws were still lit up. The right was lightly in flames, the left a white-blue color that was visibly frosting the air around it. The lines that he had traced with his claws were burning and frozen respectively; both ending right at Infernape. He was standing, a slash of ice crossed with a slash of fire, making a perfect X on his front. And Infernape fell.

Defeated.

XxxxX

A/N: So, like I said, not too many author's notes in this fic like you might find in my others. I feel this story doesn't require them like the others do. More about keeping the story flowing I guess. I just wanted to take a moment to explain to you all how exactly I view Pokemon, and more to the point, Pokemon battles. It will help you understand why I write the way I do and hopefully avoid any confusion in the future.

Now, to me Pokemon are incredibly awesome creatures with varying levels of intelligence as well as high combat potential. However, I do not believe that there is such thing as a Pokemon who, unless it's literally built into their being, can just constantly take high level hits and stay moving properly. In my opinion it really takes battles and makes them boring. Sure I've seen plenty of the heavy hitting battles that people write where Pokemon use super powerful moves over and over again basically turning the battle into an endurance war that just lets the author pick an easy winner: the Pokemon who can just go _one more attack!_ Anyway, none of that here really. Pokemon who can do stuff like that are about as top as it gets. I feel that regardless of how strong a Pokemon is, a well placed attack should do appropriate damage. A couple of those and the enemy is down. In fact it's a lot more like the game in this respect than the show, though not to the one hits we usually clear eighty percent of the game with. Anyone remember clearing all of Red and Blue with a lvl 70 Blastoise and five other lvl 10 pokemon xD? Surf Surf Surf Surf Surf Surf...

Where am I going with this? Essentially I don't think battles should be long. Quite the contrary they should be inherently short, especially when we start pulling in something called skill. So I try to drag things out as much as I can without them getting boring to write. It may seem like I'm just giving an excuse for when battles are kinda short, and well in a way I am, but really this is the way I view Pokemon battling. I guess I'm just trying to say that just because two powerful trainers are squaring off that doesn't mean that their battle will be longer than others. Anyway, I do my best to give the best battles I can write. I hope you enjoy them.


	8. It's Not a Harem Fic, I Swear

"Heracross, Mega Horn!" shouted Corey. He winced again as his ribs throbbed. This was not looking good; for him of course. Relatively speaking, is Pokemon were fine, but Corey couldn't take much more of this. Battling took a lot out of the trainer as well after all. Heracross charged forward and finally made a solid connection on Cynthia's Gastrodon, knocking it out. Not twenty minutes ago, Corey stood tall against Cynthia, ready to battle to the last. Now he was surprised that he had managed to go this long without losing consciousness himself. He hadn't intended to show up to the battle heavily injured, but escaping an insane girl and her equally demonic Pokemon could do that to a guy.

"Gastrodon is unable to battle!" called the judge. Cynthia withdrew her Pokemon, he face showing no emotion as she stared at Corey. So far Corey's Raichu had taken out her Togekiss, his Gengar had defeated her Milotic, and now Heracross took down Gastrodon. All in all, it was pretty good; or at least, it just looked good. All he had left was a tired Heracross and an equally spent Empoleon who he had recalled just in time earlier. Cynthia still had three unused Pokemon on her side.

"Garchomp, Brick Break," said Cynthia, her voice cold. Corey made to call out for Heracross to jump to the side, avoiding the top-to-bottom chop, but he was seized by pain again and couldn't speak. Heracross, unable to dodge such a fast attack on his own, was instantly taken out by the completely fresh dragon. Corey recalled him and sent out Empoleon, trying to remain straight. He couldn't let it out now that he was hurt. There was no way that his pride would allow it.

"Empoleon water gun!" he shouted and Empoleon shot a jet of water at Garchomp. Garchomp didn't even bother dodging it, with Empoleon already exhausted and Water Gun's low power to begin with, it barely had any effect. "Good now Ice Beam!" The combo worked perfectly, Garchomp was frozen from the chest down, unable to move. He didn't thrash out in an attempt to break the ice however.

"Your Pokemon fought well today, Corey," said Cynthia, making him look at her in confusion. "But you didn't," she said quietly, keeping the last part to herself. "Garchomp, Dragonbreath!"

XxxxxX

"What the hell was _that!_" Cynthia was pissed. She had just won her battle against Corey five minutes ago. The crowd could still be heard dimly through the walls, despite being in the waiting room, cheering their favorite champion. But the moment that Corey's final Pokemon had fallen, she had lost all sense of the world but him.

"What the hell was that, what?" he shouted back, wincing slightly. Cynthia was always calm and positive looking so it was very unnerving to see her otherwise; few probably had ever seen her angry. Lowering his voice he continued, "So I lost just like I did last time. So what? I got better yeah, but so did you so-" but he never finished as Cynthia grabbed the collar of his shirt, bringing her face within inches of his.

"Don't give me that crap, I've seen you're earlier battles! If you had battle like you were fully capable of to begin with, you might have had a good chance of winning, instead of a one-hundred percent chance of losing!" Cynthia backed up a foot, giving herself some breathing space, but still held his shirt. Corey made no move to free himself. She took a couple of breaths, calming herself down, and when her eyes met his again, he thought he saw disappointment in them. "You wouldn't know this, but I'm removing Aaron from the Elite Four. Long story short, he's not up for it anymore. Aaron's known about it for a while now and he's going to announce his retirement from the group in a month or so. The only thing is, I can't have an Elite Four without four people." Cynthia broke off. She looked bitter.

"You couldn't really be... you were going to ask me?" said Corey weakly, feeling bemused. It was like a dream come true; to be a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four... _Elite Four!_

"_Going_, being the operative word. Ever since that battle, I've kept you in the back of my head as a candidate, but now... well, forget it." Cynthia finished, letting go of his shirt with a push causing Corey to bump into the wall behind him. He gasped in pain, clutching his side. Cynthia looked at him sharply and Corey stood up straight, pretending that nothing had happened, but too late.

"What's wrong?" she shot at him, moving closer and bending down.

"It's nothing really," he said, knowing full well that he couldn't stop her, whatever he told her. "Just," Cynthia lifted the side of his shirt and inhaled sharply, "a few cracked ribs I guess..." he finished with a sigh, wincing as he did.

"You battled like this?" Cynthia was stunned. Corey wasn't to blame for the way he battled, but this was too much. "How can you even move? You need to get to the hospital right now!"

"Cynthia!" came a sudden shout from the doorway. Miranda stopped short as the two trainers looked at her in confusion, then one began to back away, visibly sweating. Cynthia looked from Miranda to Corey, confused.

"Corey? What-"

"Y-you, the girl with, with the Eevee..." he stammered, backing up, eyes locked on Miranda. Miranda's eyes flashed, but otherwise she remained normal, albeit furious.

"You were with _them_! With Vince and Aero and that girl!" she seethed, every fiber of her being focused into controlling herself. She had to stay calm. She _had _to. Cynthia's look of confusion and worry vanished instantly.

"I'm speechless, Corey. Really, I am."

"Miranda, calm down!" Ash burst into the room, veering to avoid Miranda, and went head first over one of the couches. The other three watched as he tucked in his right shoulder and rolled safely to a stop. "Miranda, whatever it is I'll... oh," he said blankly, noticing the complete lack of chaos. "Well, uhh looks like you've got it under control then, hehe. Heya Cynthia, didn't see you th- ow!" Ash rubbed his head where it connected with the counter he had unknowingly rolled under. Voices could be heard from outside the room; it was about to become a lot less private.

"Let's change locations shall we?" said Cynthia, walking over to Corey. She smiled at him in a way that spoke of nothing good. "Then we can have a nice long chat."

XxxxX

To Corey's surprise, by "change locations" Cynthia had meant to a hospital and not, as he thought, a dungeon. Ash was able to get a large cab to take them to the hospital, which unlike the Pokemon Center, wasn't a short walk from the stadium. Corey spent the ride thinking about what to say when they began to question him. With everything but the truth being weak at best, he resigned himself to the fact that his deal with the Hunters was over.

"Ah well," he muttered as they walked him into the hospital, "it's not like it was really working out anyway. Dammit." One hour later, the four of them were alone in Corey's recovery room. For some reason, Miranda was glancing at Cynthia every once in a while, looking guilty. Seeing the girl who had single handedly destroyed Stadium Square look like that did nothing to improve his mood.

"So," began Cynthia, taking a seat at the side table facing him, snapping him back to reality, "Corey, would you please mind telling me what your relationship to the Hunters is?" Corey suppressed a shudder at the deadly tone her voice had developed. Wonderful, he thought, Cynthia looks like a really close friend, and with my luck Ash is her boyfriend. Not that he was particularly sacred of any of them; except Miranda, of course.

"I'm using them," he said calmly. "All I'm doing is catching some wild Pokemon for their bigger clients and in return I'm getting information." The three said nothing. Corey felt the creeping of nervousness. Plowing on he continued, "And for the record, uhh Miranda, I only protected them before because I still needed them, not because I support what they do. I really have no idea what happened between you and them, but I have nothing to do with it. I swear."

Miranda looked hard at Corey, as though trying to read his mind to confirm the truth in what he said. Then she traded looks with Cynthia who was also frowning. Whatever they were concluding however was instantly overruled as Ash came to Corey's rescue. "Yep, that about sums it up," he said nodding. The girls and Corey both looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" Miranda asked.

"I believe him," Ash replied, scratching his chin briefly. "Never mind, it's an Aura thing okay? Just trust me on this." Ash sat down in an empty chair. "Plus, I don't know about anything serious between them and Corey here, so I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Sound good?" he finished, looking from Miranda to Cynthia. Corey remained quiet as the girls pondered his fate. Also, something Ash had just said was bugging him.

"We believe you Corey," said Cynthia finally, Miranda nodding her agreement.

"Umm, I'm really, _really_ sorry, Corey!" burst Miranda suddenly, making him jump a little. "I, I hurt you..." Why in the world did the girl look so sad?

"Haha, don't worry about it," Corey said quickly forcing a smile, "It was a misunderstanding for both of us anyway." Ash moved over to Miranda and slid an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a comforting hug.

"See? He's alright about it so don't beat yourself up again, please..." he added softly. Miranda naturally slid up against him, returning the hug. Definitely her boyfriend, decided Corey. He noticed that Cynthia looked a little agitated. Corey began to get worried again.

"You do believe me, right Cynthia?" he asked, and Cynthia coughed standing up.

"Yes, of course I do." Abruptly turning to Ash she said, "Shouldn't we try to get some information out of him about the Hunters? If he's been working with them-"

"Speaking of information," Corey interrupted loudly, remembering what he had wanted to say before, "even though I'm not involved with them that much, how would you know if I was?" Expecting a snappy reply, Corey was surprised when Ash began laughing.

"Hahaha, 'Who the hell do you think you are, Kid?' right?" said Ash with a grin. Corey suppressed a sigh. And here he had thought that Ash might be the only normal one in the room.

"Bluntly, yes."

"I've got a good information network, just like Aero does." Seeing the look of surprise on Corey's face he continued, "Yeah we've got some history."

"I can see that," Corey grumbled. Everyone seemed to know more than he did. At that moment, the Nurse walked in closely followed by the Doctor assigned to Corey.

"Out," he said flatly, jerking his thumb at the door. "I've already been more than patient and you've well exceeded the visiting time." The doctor glared at Miranda who recognized him at once as the guy she had fought with the last time she was in the building. She grinned sheepishly and quickly made her escape. Ash made to follow her, stopping just before he left the room to say,

"Corey, once the tournament is over, come see me. I think you'll find that I can help you a lot," and he dashed off, calling for Miranda to slow down. Corey watched him leave curious by what he had just said, when he realized that he still wasn't alone. Cynthia was still standing in front of him.

"When this is over, we're going to have another full battle and if I think you do well enough, I'll reconsider dropping you as an Elite Four candidate," she said, crossing her arms. Corey could see the corner of her mouth twitch.

"Oh?" he countered, grinning now, "Well here's what I think. I challenge you to a Title Match after the tournament, and when you lose I'll think about letting you stay on as an Elite Four member." He held out his hand, and Cynthia looked at it. She grinned broadly and slapped it.

"Deal."

XxxxxX

"Ash you bastard!"

"I knew it was you! I knew it!"

"Pfft, don't lie Max."

"Shut up!"

Later on that evening, upon arriving at his suite, Ash wasn't surprised to find that it was already completely full of his friends, who had prepared another party/ambush for him. All of his Pokemon were checked into the Pokemon Center for a full night recovery. Gardevoir would actually be sitting the next battle out, with the purpose of being completely healed for the semi-finals. She needed a good rest anyway. She always seemed to be awake, keeping an eye on them all. And so, unable to simply vanish to a quieter place, Ash simply resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be hearing the end of the Eighth business.

_'Still_,' Ash thought, as he watched Max desperately trying to escape his sister's hold, '_It does feel better to have that out in the open. I wonder how Scott's faring...'_ He looked over the heads of those nearby him and finally spotted Scott sitting by the TV surrounded by the other Brains. Seeing that Scott was under fire, Ash made his way over to rescue him.

"Ash!" he said over the others, gratefully. "Perfect, tell them the secret part was all your idea!" The Brains all turned to face him.

"What are you talking about, Scott?" Ash replied innocently, causing Scott to pale slightly as the others resumed glaring at him. "Wait, wait guys, I'm just messing around. It really was my idea." Taking a seat next to Anabel he said, "Actually, it took me while to convince him too, so don't beat the poor guy up." Anabel glanced at him but said nothing. This was the closest they had been to each other since that night.

"But why didn't you want anyone to know?" asked Brandon frowning his usual frown.

"I'll bet you thought it would look cooler to just come back and say, 'Surprise!' right?" jibed Anabel, saying something for the first time that evening and elbowing Ash in the side. He laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, uhh yeah that pretty much is about it." The Brains all rolled their eyes as one, the mood lightening immensely.

"So Ash, you got your symbol, but I still haven't told you where the facility is yet have I?" said Scott, smiling. Much of the group perked up at this, including some of the other party-goers who were listening in.

"No, actually you haven't," realized Ash, wondering how the lack of such an obvious piece of information had slipped his mind.

"Take a guess." Scott obviously loved to have fun with people's minds.

"It's near Pallet isn't it," said Lucy, comprehension showing on her face. "You've been putting a lot of effort into that town lately, now that I think about it."

"What?" Ash was totally lost. "What's been happening at my home town?" He hadn't set foot in Pallet town for a very long time. "Holy crap I haven't talked to my mom in over six years!" Ash practically shouted, horrified with himself. He sprang up. "Phone, need a phone! Sorry guys tell me a little later! Phone..." Everyone watched, bemused as he began to make his way to a phone, wherever one may be. But he stopped, frozen in place, before he had taken two steps. Ash looked at his hands, then took his seat again.

"Wa- what the hell was that?" Anabel cried, taking a seat cushion and whacking him with it. "You idiot, do things that make sense!"

"Sorry," said Ash, fending off the attack. "I just thought, I want to wait until the tournament is over before I go back. It will work out better that way." He shook his head and continued cheerily, "Plus if I talk to her now she'll probably fuss over me and my effects like she always does... in front of people I might add." They laughed at that.

"Ash, could you come here for a moment?" asked Dawn, poking him on the shoulder. He looked around at her, curious.

"Yeah, sure. Be nice to each other while I'm off kids," he joked at the group and they waved him off.

"This way," Dawn said, grabbing his arm and pulling him through the tightly packed rooms. Eventually, they emerged on the balcony, which was empty. The air was much cooler at night in Element, especially at this height. His place was located on the eighteenth floor.

"What's up?" Ash asked, a little concerned. Something was off. It was unlike Dawn to seek out such privacy when talking about anything. She was usually a little more, well, up front about things.

"Are you avoiding your mom?" Ash made a mental note never to follow Dawn anywhere alone.

"What makes you say that?" Ash said coolly, unaware that he had already become trapped by the conversation.

"That whole bit about your mom in there was fake," Dawn said flatly, crossing her arms and taking a step towards him. "Don't give me that look. I know I'm right and you know it too." Ash was annoyed. Why was she getting so involved about this?

"I can contact her whenever I want. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with," Ash said, biting his tongue before he could say anything else rude. Dawn just looked at him. Unable to handle a staring contest, Ash turned his back on her and made to go inside, but Dawn's next words stopped him cold.

"You did the same thing to us..."

Ash turned around and instantly regretted it. Dawn wasn't facing him directly, but he could still make out the pout on her face. "Wait Dawn, it's not-" but she turned her back on him with a sniff. Why did girls always make him feel like the bad guy?

"When you first saw us you were happy to see us all, to talk with us," she murmured, so softly that he had to take several steps closer to hear. "Or at least we thought so... but after that you avoided us. Even the few of us who traveled with you all that time." Ash was a few feet behind her now, her voice continued to drop, drawing him closer. Then she turned suddenly landing a full punch on his chest. Ash grunted in surprise.

"It hurt, Ash! You avoided me and it hurt! All of us felt it," she lowered her voice and continued, eyes boring into his. "Did you think we wouldn't like you any more because you lost? Because you ran away? You don't need to prove yourself to your friends that you're worth something because to us you already _are_. Dammit, now I'm crying..." Dawn swiped furiously at her eyes, angry at herself for getting this worked up. Considering what she had originally wanted to ask him earlier, she couldn't have gotten further off track. "Ash I- I don't really know where that came from. Just forget -eep!"

Dawn squealed in surprise as Ash suddenly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a firm hug.

"Looks like I _was_ the bad guy..." Ash muttered to himself ruefully. "I'm so sorry, Dawn."

"N-no, Ash," she stammered, somewhat overwhelmed. Ash's body was very warm. His arms tightened briefly and Dawn almost felt like she was going to faint. Ash had never made her get like this before. Not really. This was like a completely reverse allergic reaction. Forcing her voice to remain steady she said, "I... I was going to say that you eventually stopped that. Recently you've been a lot like your old self, so we're happy about that, even though we don't see you much... you know this is really nice but how much longer are you going to hold me?"

"Ah, sorry," he said hastily releasing her and taking a step back, blushing a bit. Red faced, Dawn took a breath of cool air, noting that it seemed to get so much colder all of a sudden. Still it was better to be cold than all wobbily on her feet.

"It's okay," she said. "Ash all I really wanted to say was that you shouldn't cut yourself off from your mom because if she's anything like mine then she will always support you, no matter what happens."

Ash sighed. Maybe he _was_ feeling a little nervous that his mom would be disappointed in what he did before. "I just want my reunion to be one where I have something for her to be proud of." Dawn looked at him flatly.

"You're kidding right? Do you listen to people at all, Ash Ketchum?"

"No, no, no, I understand. I was just saying I want to really wow her this time. Kind of like a sorry it's been a while since I last called thing..." he finished lamely. "Anyway, I'd rather see her in person."

"Now _that_ is a reasonable explanation. Stick to that one please," Dawn said, patting him on the arm.

"Right. Right." Ash made to go back inside; it was really getting cold out on the balcony and he still wanted to chat with some other people. However, Dawn's hand remained on his arm, preventing him from going anywhere. Ash turned back to her with an exasperated look. "Come on Dawn it's cold now, what?"

"Do you really want to get away from me so soon?" she pouted again, blinking at Ash. His head felt muddled. Why did girls always do this to him.

"No it's not that, I just don't want to get sick standing out in this cold. Speaking of that," he continued gesturing at her skirt, "you're out here wearing that ridiculously short skirt. Don't you feel a draft or anything?"

"Don't _you_ feel a draft through that empty head of yours?" said another girl's voice as a hand slapped the back of Ash's head, hard.

"Oh come on May, I'm just saying that it's really cold out here so we should go inside."

"Which is smart of you, but should sound more like, 'Oh Dawn aren't you cold out here in just that? Let's go inside so you can warm up.' See?" They walked inside and Ash rolled his eyes.

"What happened to Max, by the way?" asked Ash curiously. It was more apparent that May _wasn't_ beating on her brother as opposed to when she was.

"Oh I killed him a while ago," she said unconcernedly. Ash sweat dropped, looking into the sea of people still in his home. Poor Max.

"So around when he said you were flat, I take it? I did hear a muffled scream," Ash said, not catching the hint from Dawn's furiously shaking head. May stopped and looked at Ash over her shoulder. "Mistakenly, said you were flat; of course." Ash hastily added, dodging a bullet. Another close call for the evening. Ash sorely wished that Gardevoir was here with him. He never fully realized how important it was to his survival that he be able to vanish on the spot; even in a party. _Especially_ in a party. Lost in his thoughts, Ash realized too late that again he had become trapped with two girls who loved prying into stuff.

As luck would have it, every room they walked into was full of people, who barely even noticed them as they ducked in and then out. Even better, when they finally got to Ash's bedroom, they found it locked. Ash's fortune ended there, however, as May instantly turned to him and said, "Gimme the key or I'll strip search you." Deciding not to press his luck, he opened the door and they walked in, Dawn locking it behind them.

"Okay, what are you kidnapping me for? In my own _room_ too," Ash said weakly, sitting on the bed. Instantly he knew it was a bad move, as both girls moved in to take either side. Almost before they began moving, he practically launched himself into the solitary arm chair across from him. His moment of triumph ended swiftly when they just sat on the arms. "Come on you two, please?"

One minute of arguing later, both girls sat cross legged on the bed facing Ash who was required to move the chair closer under their mini truce. They clearly wanted information, and Ash had a haunting suspicion what it may be. He hoped he was wrong. He also had a feeling that someone had given them wine, and again hoped he was wrong. Baaad idea.

"So," said May, aggressiveness all but vanished, replaced with her normal Max-less cheer, "we were hoping you could tell us some stuff, Ash." He just looked at them before moving his eyes elsewhere. Clearly they were tipsy at least. Their shirts were a little messed up and he could even see the top of Dawn's bra.

"You don't say," said Ash sarcastically. The only thing that the scene lacked was the ropes that would surely be tied around him, preventing escape. "Fine, I'll talk about anything you want."

"Great! So-" but Ash interrupted Dawn quickly.

"_With_ the exception of one thing," he finished.

"Okay, name it," said May evenly.

"Girls."

"Rejected," chorused the girls, crossing their arms in big X's.

"I don't see how it's any of your business to begin with," Ash stated dryly.

"That's because you're not a girl," reasoned Dawn. May nodded as if that were the ultimate truth.

"...ask," grumbled Ash, resigning himself to the fact that they wouldn't be going anywhere until they got what they wanted.

"Are you dating Miranda?" they began.

"I- no," said Ash.

"For certain?"

"How uncertain could 'no' be?" said Ash loudly. Dawn shook her head.

"Fairly. Let's just cut to it. Do you _love_ Miranda?" she asked bluntly.

"...well, I dunno," said Ash softly looking out of the window to avoid their eyes. May and Dawn traded looks. For a lack of something to do, Ash grabbed the water glass on the small table next to the chair and took a big swig.

"What about the Champion?" Ash sputtered, spraying water in the direction of the window. Wiping his mouth hastily he said,

"W-_what?_"

May let herself fall back on the bed, muttering to herself moodily. "Well crap, how are you supposed to win against a girl who looks as good as Miranda _and_ the Champion..."

"Wait you two, what are you talking about? I mean I like Cynthia a lot, but I don't love her," Ash said quickly. Unbidden he was reminded the times they had spent together the past weeks, just the two of them. Ash quickly pushed the memories out of his head. Absolutely not what he needed when facing these two.

"I mean it's not obvious, but to a trained eye..." said Dawn.

"You mean an eye like yours?" Ash said, rolling his own eyes. "Look, I'm sorry but I Cynthia's just a friend. Alright, a close friend. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Sure, you say that to us pretty easily, but could you say it to her face?" asked Dawn shrewdly. "Could you tell her she was nothing more than just a friend?"

"What?" repeated Ash. "What does that matter?"

"It matters a whole lot," Dawn said simply.

"I don't really understand why you two are jumping into the middle of my private life to begin with," Ash said, aiming to guilt them. "I mean, it's not like I've ever done this to you guys." But they weren't even listening to him.

Dawn was whispering to May, "I have an idea." May perked up as she listened to what the other girl breathed into her ear. Then to Ash's complete confusion they proceeded to play rock-paper-scissors. One minute later, Ash stopped trying to figure out what was going on and the two girls turned to him.

"Okay, we've decided," said May with a smile.

"What are you scheming?" asked Ash knowing this wasn't going to be good for him.

"We're going to go get Cynthia and straighten this all out!" Ash nearly fell out of his chair.

"I told you I don't-" he argued but he was cut off.

"..._Unless_ you go on a date with one of us. A _real_ date."

"You can't be serious! That's blackmail! You two are supposed to be my friends!"

"Oh come on Ash, it's just a date." Ash didn't know how to get out of this.

"So who am I going with?" he asked.

"That's what we just decided," said May. "It was a tie."

"So how are you going to choose who wins then?"

"We did, silly," said Dawn smiling evilly. And suddenly Ash knew.

"You're going out with both of us!"

XxxxxX

All in all, the twisted double date wasn't really torture like Ash thought it was going to be. In fact, he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He thought that they would tease him and pretend that they all were one odd couple, but he eventually figured out that it was really just their way of wanting to spend time with him. Dawn was right. He _had_ been avoiding everyone. It was about time he stopped; soon anyway.

"Sorry about last night Ash, we kind of got carried away," Dawn apologized at the end of their day out. May, looking equally guilty, nodded.

"Yeah we shouldn't have done that. Um, I think we might have had a little wine..." her voice drifted off and the pair of them blushed. Oh yes, a _little _wine. Ash was doing his best to hold back his laughter.

"Would you two relax? I really enjoyed today. Seriously," he added, seeing the apprehensive looks they gave him. "Just, you know, don't say anything. And I really don't love Cynthia. You two are just dreaming up romance for the sake of it." He left them shortly after that, not wanting to give either a chance to pick him apart.

However for the next few days, even during the quarter-finals match he had against Cliff Exford, which he won fairly easily, Ash had little else _but_ Cynthia on his mind. Compared to the beginning of the tournament, Ash now saw her nearly as often as he did Miranda. On top of that, he actually found himself alone with Cynthia more than with Miranda. Whenever they were together his pulse got quicker, and he felt drawn to her. But it wasn't just him. Ash noticed that Cynthia went well out of her way to get time alone with him. It was becoming difficult trying to figure out which he actually liked more, and truth be told, that worried him. The feelings he had for Miranda stemmed from somewhere completely different than what was surfacing for Cynthia, but without a doubt they both were taking up most of his mind.

Never having been faced with such a dilemma, it was with apprehension that he knocked on Misty's door, the night before the semi-final matches.

"Ash?" said Misty in surprise, her head poking between the door and the wall.

"Hey, Misty. Can I talk to you for a bit about something? I, uhh, I need your help." Ash looked around a little nervously. He felt jumpy for some reason.

"What? Yeah, alright. Come on in." she said curiously, and opened the door, letting him walk inside. Once again, it was a much smaller place than his suite, and once again Ash had to wonder exactly how he had gotten such a huge living space to begin with. Misty was wearing a pair of pajamas that had various water Pokemon all over them and she also had her hair down. She looked like she was about to go to bed. A book and a steaming mug on her coffee table told him otherwise.

"You know if you're busy I can always come back another time," started Ash, already moving to the door. Misty grabbed him and pulled him to a seat.

"I didn't let you see me in these pajamas for nothing, tell me what's up, Ash?" she shot at him, though not unkindly. "Actually let me guess, you're here about girls right?" Ash nodded slowly and Misty put a hand to her forehead laughing softly. She mumbled something, but the only words Ash caught were 'finally' and 'irony'.

"So, what's the problem?" she asked finally, pouring Ash some cool tea that she had been drinking and refilling her cup.

"I think I might um, interested, in Cynthia." The little tea that Misty had begun drinking returned to her cup posthaste.

"You think you're in _love_ with the Sinnoh _Champion?_"

"I _said _interested, not love," shot Ash defensively. "Why, is that a bad thing?" Had this been a bad idea?

"No, just a bit dreamy," she said as if he would understand what she meant by it. Which he didn't. "But I thought you were with Miranda," she continued looking a little puzzled. "Did you break up with her?"

"No, no," Ash replied, quickly shaking his head. "We didn't break- wait a second we aren't together to begin with. We're just really close." Seeing that she was about to say something Ash added, "Look it's just getting a little confusing and I'm not really sure how to handle this."

"Riiiight. So you like Miranda but now have a small crush on the Champion, what's the problem? You've been around Miranda for years so consider that. You know her a hell of a lot better than Cynthia I'll bet. How much do you know about the Champion anyway?" Ash frowned. She was right. How much about Cynthia _did_ he know in the end? The fact that her parents had passed away when she was young was probably the only piece of personal information he had on her. He didn't even know her favorite color.

"You might be right but when it comes to Cynthia, I don't know really why I think so, but I was thinking... thinking it might be mutual." Misty quickly put down her tea before she lost any more of it.

"Ash, somehow I doubt that," Misty said, though not unkindly. "Cynthia's, well, Cynthia. And.."

"I'm me?" said Ash hotly. "I came here to see if you could give me some advice Misty, not for you to insult me."

"Sorry that didn't exactly come out right," said Misty with a yawn. "In general though, when you like someone and you don't know how that person feels about you, you start reading too deeply into every little thing and that quickly leads to bad mistakes that can ruin even the closest friendships." Ash simply blinked at her.

"You think I'm overreacting?"

"It's more than likely. I'm sorry Ash but she _is_ the Champion after all."

"What does that have to do with anything?" said Ash, crossing his arms. Misty imitated him.

"Well, think about Cynthia's position for a second. How many guys do you think have thrown themselves at her over the course of her life? Girls too I'll bet. I just figure that if she's still single despite having literally half a world to pick from she's either not interested in relationships or looking for something she hasn't found yet." Well, she certainly had a point. "By the way, why are you exploring this the day before you _may_ be facing her in a battle? They aren't going to announce the match-ups until right before it starts you know."

"Dunno, seemed like a good a time as any I suppose." Ash got up and walked to the door but Misty held him up.

"Wait Ash, at least let me say one thing to try and help you out before you go." Ash nodded tiredly and she said, "Look, let's assume that you're right about Cynthia. I think the best thing would be for you to figure out your relationships with them and then choose from there. Just, just tell the other girl that you don't like her as much."

"That's the problem," said Ash, rubbing his head. "Every time I'm around them I like them each more. How am I supposed to figure anything out like that?"

"I don't know but you obviously can't have both. Life doesn't work that way. Just, do your best to figure it out and make it plain to them both. I know it's not going to make everyone happy, but that's life... Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Misty."

XxxxxX

"Everyone! It'll be starting in five minutes, so please be ready!" The young attendant ran out of the waiting room.

The four remaining trainers in the tournament sat around a table, each side having a single person. Ash sat in an armchair, Pikachu in his lap wearing his cap for something to do. To Ash's right sat Cynthia, on a short stool she had found somewhere. She was staring off into space, thinking about something. Her long hair moved slightly in the small cross breeze coming from the doorway. She even makes being oblivious look good, though Ash, before he shook his head to clear it. She was _not_ the thing he needed to be thinking about right then.

Ash turned his head to the man sitting opposite him, Steven Stone. While Ash's quarter-final battle hadn't been worth discussing over even a glass of water, the battle between the former Hoenn Champion and the current one, Wallace, was probably already in books. It was the first time that Ash had ever seen any of Steven's Pokemon other than his Aggron which he knew about from the last time they met, years ago. Retired or not, he was a force to be reckoned with. A sudden sigh drew Ash's attention to the final member of the group, Dion Liddick.

This was the first time that Ash had come face to face with the current Champion of his home region Kanto, and according to Anabel the only other person ever offered a position as a Battle Frontier Brain. Despite having separate conferences, the Kanto and Johto regions shared an Elite Four, as well as a Champion. This meant that essentially there were twice as many people gunning for his spot; however, Dion still remained unmatched after the two and a half years of being Champion. Personally, Ash didn't particularly like the guy. He seemed too arrogant. However, this was probably because Ash had just met him. Being a champion already told Ash a lot about him, but only really as a trainer. Even so, it was the trainer that he may possibly be battling in the next few minutes. Scott suddenly walked in and everyone stood up automatically.

"It's time!"

Ash squinted as the sunlight hit him. His ears, already used to the sounds of crazy Pokemon battle fans, only seemed to recoil slightly as a positive wave of sound hit them. He rubbed his temples, hoping he didn't end up going deaf eventually. It only took him a moment to locate his friends. They sat directly in the middle almost in the front row, just as they had done for the past few battles of his. He waved covertly, and they all enthusiastically waved back. As the five of them reached the center of the battlefield, Scott stepped forward and spoke to the crowd through the microphone attached to his shirt.

"Welcome everyone, glad to see that the stadium is still holding up under this audience," he said cheerfully and the crowd quieted considerably.

"First I'd like to give a great hand to the four incredible trainers who have battled their way to the top of the top! We have Battle Frontier Brain number eight, Ash Ketchum! Kanto and Johto Champion Dion Liddick! Former Hoenn Champion Steven Stone! And finally Sinnoh Champion Cynthia Shirona!" The crowd roared its approval, especially for the three Champions. They were idolized by everyone, Pokemon trainer or not. After all, Champions represented much more than just winning a few Pokemon battles. Ash traded glances with Cynthia and they both grinned.

"And now," called Scott loudly to get everyone back under control, "I get to explain the rules of the semi-final battle." Ash traded confused looks with the other three. Looked like he hadn't misheard.

"Battle?" he said to Scott quickly, but Scott continued as if he hadn't heard him.

"Many of you may remember a poll that was put out to all four regions a couple of years ago about tournaments like this one. It asked specifically if people would be interested in watching something a little different for the semi-finals. Instead of two single battles, we asked if people would like a tag battle." The crowd was beginning to go crazy; Ash could feel it even past the barriers he always kept around his mind to prevent himself from being assaulted by the aura in everything. Still, even he was feeling some adrenaline. A _tag battle?_

Scott plowed on. "The results of that poll were astounding; so astounding that we did it again half a week ago while everyone here was cut off from the regions. And here were the results!" Scott suddenly motioned to the main data boards opposite each other at the top of the stadium. Everyone watched as they suddenly flashed showing the results of the poll.

Tag Battle = 91%  
Single Battles = 9%

"So do you all agree?" he shouted excitedly at them. The stadium burst with cheers, yelling, and all around chaos that clearly meant, "Hell. Freaking. Yes."

"Then I officially announce that the semi-final match is a two on two tag battle! Each trainer will have four Pokemon each and may only substitute twice. And so, you four, please choose two Pokemon and leave them with me. No changing your mind later," he added handing out his hand. The four looked at Scott, then immediately stared at each other, planning. Eventually Ash handed Scott Armaldo.

"Sorry, buddy, I'm sitting you out for this one," Ash said to Pikachu with an apology. "I'll be needing you for the finals though. Be sure on that." Pikachu gave a disgruntled sound then jumped over to Scott's shoulder where he sat perfectly balanced. Dion, Steven, and Cynthia all looked at him then each made one change before handing over two pokeballs over to Scott each. Ash glared at them. "Thanks guys, really subtle."

"Sorry Ash, that's just the way it works," shrugged Steven with a grin. Dion and Cynthia copied him.

"Now that everything is set, the only thing remaining is to choose the teams, which will be done randomly right here, right now!" The moment the words left his mouth the screens changed to show four empty boxes separated into two groups and divided by a big 'VS'. Within seconds their faces began to flash in the boxes so rapidly that he could barely make out who was who. And then it stopped; as quickly as it had started.

"Well, looks like it's you and me," said Ash turning to his right. He was grinning; he knew it. There was no reason for him not to.

"I guess so," said Cynthia, still looking up at the board. She faced him, her smile just as wide as his. "That means when we win I'll finally get to face you in the finals."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."


	9. Thing's Aren't Always Better in Twos

The battle was about to start. He and Cynthia had taken their place at the end of a much larger designated battlefield than previously used in the tournament. It was nearly twice the size for this battle. Of course, what with the occasional Pokemon that got thrown into a wall, the marked battlefield really was just a formality. It also gave trainers a reason to stand still for the most part. Cynthia noticed his unease and nudged him with her elbow, looking at him sidelong.

"Nervous? I'd never have believed it," she joked curious as to why he looked so tense. Ash shook his head as if to clear it.

"Nah, I'm just not used to having such pretty teammates," he joked. Cynthia coughed. "Haha anyway," he continued, "we need to focus on the battle. Can't let ourselves be caught off guard."

"Yeah," said Cynthia, facing her opponents and forcing herself not to look back at Ash. Why did he have to go and say something like _that_.

"Call out your first Pokemon!" shouted the judge, who was instantly followed by a wave of cheering. The match was about to begin. Ash and Cynthia looked at each other and nodded. Apart from that last bit, they hadn't said a word to each other about what Pokemon they had or anything. Steven and Dion however, had seemed to come up with a plan. At the same time all four trainers threw out their Pokemon.

"Skarmory to the skies!" called Steven throwing his ball high into the air.

"Typhlosion, smoke 'em!" said Dion with a smile.

"Zangoose, no holding back!" yelled Ash.

"Nidoqueen, lets shake things up!" shouted Cynthia.

"Begin!"

At the judge's command, Zangoose and Nidoqueen charged forward, Zangoose keeping even with his teammate. "Typhlosion, cover fire!" shouted Dion, grinning at his pun. Typhlosion shot a stream of flames at the two Pokemon, forcing them to jump aside to avoid it. They continued their charge, but Skarmory was nowhere in sight.

"Air Slash!" Steven's command was quickly followed by a series of slashes from above. Skarmory had positioned himself almost directly above their heads, and was now making it rain attacks. Zangoose bumped into Nidoqueen's side, forcing her out of the way of an attack and they plowed through taking minimal damage. With Skarmory behind them, Zangoose sped up, initiating the two on one.

"Do it Zangoose!" shouted Ash. A few steps from Typhlosion, Zangoose drew back his claw preparing the slash, then instantly split to the right, confusing Typhlosion and drawing his attention. Moments later Nidoqueen collided with him, delivering a crushing Skull Bash, and sending him flying back. Steven and Dion dove to the side to avoid being hit by the fire Pokemon.

"That's the way, Nidoqueen!" shouted Cynthia, then exclaimed, "Hang on, brace yourself!" No sooner had Nidoqueen driven a foot into the ground, Skarmory kicked up a severe Whirlwind. Zangoose was being lifted off of the ground, despite the claw he had sunk into the ground. As he lost his grip, Nidoqueen made a lunge, grabbing him and driving both feet into the ground. They were safe; for the moment.

"It's a trap," said Ash suddenly, looking at Typhlosion. The fire Pokemon suddenly flared up. "Zangoose, the ground!"

"Great, now Blast Burn!" shouted Dion, pointing at the immobilized Pokemon. The Whirlwind faded just as Typhlosion shot a huge fireball at them. There was simply no dodging this.

"Nidoqueen, Superpower! Protect yourself!" Cynthia cried, stunned by the magnitude of the fireball. As Zangoose moved behind Nidoqueen, he quickly slashed the ground in front of her. Nidoqueen drove her fists into the ground and gave a great heave, wrenching up a freshly cut slab of arena floor to collide with the fireball, causing an immense explosion. The concussive force knocked all four trainers back. Ash quickly grabbed Cynthia, steadying her. She looked at him to thank him, but Ash was staring at the battle.

"Retaliate!" he said softly. "Zangoose, we're not finished yet! Let's go!" Nidoqueen was already standing with Zangoose behind her, slightly better off. The crowd was going nuts over the stamina of both Pokemon. Cynthia could see that Typhlosion was unable to move; they needed to take him out before Dion wised up and substituted him out.

"Nidoqueen give it all you've got!" She charged forward once more, aiming directly at Typhlosion; Zangoose on her tail. A gleam of silver caught everyone's eye.

"Brave Bird! Take them both out in one shot!" Steven's Skarmory dove at a frightening speed, encased in blue, and leveled out arrowing right at Nidoqueen. Ash and Cynthia exchanged quick glances.

"Improvise, Nidoqueen! Superpower!"

"Fire Claw, Zangoose!"

It was a mark of how in-synch the two were with their Pokemon. Nidoqueen entered the Superpowered state, holding out her arm. Zangoose leaped on the end, falling forward as soon as he landed. Then at once, Nidoqueen gave an almighty punch, sending a flaming Zangoose directly at his prey. Nidoqueen continued full out toward Typhlosion who would be able to move at any second. Skarmory, who hadn't expected to be attacked by a flying, flaming Zangoose, lost complete focus the Brave Bird aura disappearing. Zangoose collided with Skarmory hard, propelling them both into the stadium wall and kicking up a cloud of debris. A roar drew everyone's attention to the other two Pokemon. Typhlosion was unconscious beside a victorious, though charred looking Nidoqueen. Typhlosion had managed a final fire attack before Nidoqueen pushed through it to the end. Zangoose was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. Skarmory however, was nowhere in sight. Ash looked around and shouted, "Nidoqueen, look out!"

"Aggron take her down!" So caught up what had just happened, barely anyone noticed the quick appearance of Steven's next Pokemon, who was already on top of Cynthia's. Nidoqueen never stood a chance. "And let that be a lesson to all you young trainers out there in why you should never let your guard down," said Steven sagely. Dion chuckled.

"Was that supposed to help us or infuriate us?" asked Ash through gritted teeth. Cynthia recalled Nidoqueen and chose her next Pokemon.

"Infuriate," she growled. Among the few things that seriously ticked her off, being talked down to about Pokemon battling was in the top three. "Now it's for real." Ash knew that tone of voice well. Thankfully, it had never been directed at him.

"Ursaring, you're up," said Dion, choosing his next Pokemon at last.

"Garchomp, no holding back," said Cynthia, eyes locked on Aggron.

"Continue!"

"Garchomp, Brick Break!" Garchomp rapidly closed on the two Pokemon and aimed a powerful chop at Ursaring, but Aggron blocked it, catching her fin in his hands without taking too much damage.

"Ursaring, get rid of the leftovers," Dion smirked, pointing at Zangoose, who was still recovering by the wall. Ursaring ran passed Garchomp and made straight for Zangoose, who prepared himself for the attack, visibly using Swords Dance.

"Garchomp, Flamethrower!" shouted Cynthia. The point-blank attack made Aggron let go and stagger back, arms covering his face. Garchomp took the opportunity to spin and land a vicious Aqua Tail on his side, sending the large Pokemon stumbling in the direction of the other two Pokemon. Zangoose was clearly fighting on his last legs, and was unable to avoid the harsh beating that Ursaring was dishing out. At one point, Ursaring caught Zangoose by the arm, mid-swing.

"Seismic Toss!" shouted Dion instantly. Ursaring lifted the exhausted Pokemon and spun him once before slamming him into the wall. Zangoose was out.

"Sorry Zangoose, I should have done more to help," said Ash angrily, recalling him and reaching for his next Pokemon. Garchomp was backing away from the remaining two Pokemon, using Dragonbreath to keep them back. Perfect.

"Lucario! It's serious this time, Aura Sphere!" he shouted. Eager to do some damage, Lucario emerged from the pokeball already charging an Aura Sphere. He threw it directly at Ursaring who didn't see it coming. "Keep harrying them!" Ash continued to the team at large.

"What are we planning," Cynthia shot at him quietly.

"It's a surprise. Just keep them together and off balance for a few more seconds," Ash replied, grinning. Cynthia gave a mental sigh and commanded Garchomp to keep it up. Finally, Aggron fell over.

"Now!" Ash shouted, recalling Lucario and throwing his next Pokemon high. "Fire Spin!" Garchomp retreated quickly as a mass of blue flames shot out of the pokeball, expanding, becoming a swirling pillar of fire.

"Aggron/Ursaring!" shouted Steven and Dion, completely shocked by the display. A few seconds passed, then the fire dissipated, leaving a barely conscious Ursaring and clearly defeated Aggron in its place. The new Pokemon leaped off of Aggron and gracefully padded over to her trainer.

"Nice one, Ninetales," said Ash, nodding his approval at the damage, keeping an eye on his opponents just in case; but it looked like Ninetales' entrance had provided them all with a moments rest.

"Ash, you traitor! Why didn't you tell me you had a rare-" the sound of Brock's voice was suddenly cut off by a muffled scream. Ash sweat dropped; he figured Brock would react like that. Catching the look he was getting from Cynthia he said hastily,

"Uhh, surprise?"

"Surprised," she said, turning back to the battle. Both Steven and Dion were switching out their Pokemon. Ash grumbled to himself about something, but Cynthia was unable to hear him over the cheers and cooing the crowd was directing at his Ninetales. Cynthia bit the inside of her lip, forcing herself not to do anything rash.

_'It's, it's so cuuuuute,'_ she thought in agony, dying to touch it's fur.

"_You look pretty good too; for a human,"_ came a playful feminine voice in her mind. Thankfully, being around Gardevoir so much had made Cynthia quite used to telepathy.

"Let's talk later, shall we?" she said aloud, making Ash look at her in confusion. She shook her head and returned focus to the battle.

"Empoleon!" shouted Steven, drawing an annoyed look from both Ash and Cynthia. Water, bleh.

"Nidoking! Get ready for a water fight," said Dion.

"Garchomp, no mercy! Draco Meteor!" shouted Cynthia. It was time that they took control of this battle. Garchomp briefly showed an intense well of orange then shot a massive ball high into the sky. The crowd watched it as one, getting higher and higher, then it split... and split. And split. Steven's expression changed to one of horror as he watched it multiply. Dion clenched his teeth.

"Here comes the rain," said Cynthia softly, not looking up. Garchomp lowered herself to one knee, unable to stand after putting so much power into a single attack.

"Prioritize, Dion," said Steven, holding him back from attacking. They both retreated several meters away from the battlefield, giving their Pokemon defensive commands.

"Ninetales, are you up for it?" asked Ash seriously, glancing up at the rapidly closing projectiles. In answer, she swished her tails and began to run at her opponents.

The next ten seconds of the battle could only be described as apocalyptic. The sheer power of Garchomp's attack produced more projectiles than anyone would have imagined possible. It was truly like rain. Craters littered the battlefield, as they hit, Empoleon and Nidoking dodging for their lives. Even so, To make it even more chaotic, Ninetales was running around in the fatal rain, shooting off fire attack after attack. The number of Heat Wave attacks made the ground look hazy, and it was practically impossible to make out exactly where Ninetales was attacking from.

"Nidoking, we need to do something! Ice Beam!" shouted Dion in frustration. Nidoking dodged again and shot an Ice Beam directly at Garchomp, dealing her critical damage. The rain suddenly ended. It had only lasted for a handful of seconds, but it certainly felt much longer. Unfortunately, both Empoleon and Nidoking were still in it.

"Garchomp, return!" Cynthia said hastily, recalling the Pokemon. She would have to have a chat with her about overdoing it so much with that attack. "Lucario! Help us out!"

"Empoleon, cool this field down! Hydro pump!" At Steven's command, Empoleon covered everything with water. The mirage effect vanished, being replaced by steam rising in places.

"Ninetales! Flare Blitz!" shouted Ash pointing at Nidoking. Ninetales shot at Nidoking like an arrow, encased in blue flames.

"Earth Power!" Dion replied. A wall appeared between Nidoking and Ninetales, forcing her to veer off to the side, but a wall appeared there as well, trapping her. Before she could escape, a final column of earth shot up under Ninetales, knocking her into the air with a cry.

"Hydro Pump!" The jet of water connected with her in the air, sending her sprawling. By the time she came to a stop, she was unconscious. As the stadium cried out for their latest Pokemon crush, Ash recalled her with an apology, now even more annoyed with himself. Constantly, throughout the battle, he had been underestimating every Pokemon he fought. The relatively easy ride he had to this level had made him so complacent; as if he couldn't lose. He threw out Lucario again.

"Time to do this the right way," he muttered. "Cynthia, you take the lead this time."

"No problem, Ash," she said, noting his sudden change. "Get in there!" The two Lucario jetted forward, zigzagging to avoid the incoming attacks.

"Aura Sphere!" shouted Cynthia. Her Lucario threw a compact ball of blue light straight at Empoleon who ducked it barely. Unfortunately for him, Ash's Lucario was already there.

"Close Combat!" he shouted, and Lucario rained blows on the Pokemon, almost too fast to see. Nidoking was equally badly off. Unable to manage the speed of attacks, Dion withdrew Nidoking, bringing out Ursaring again. From the looks of it, Ursaring had recovered somewhat, but he was clearly still burned. With his ability activating, Ursaring was moving at a much higher speed than earlier, enabling him to keep up with Cynthia's Lucario. Still, the advantage was clear.

"Force Palm!" shouted both Ash and Cynthia to their respective Pokemon. The two Pokemon blasted their opponents away causing them to collide. Empoleon just managed to get up, but Ursaring was out.

"Nidoking! Earth Power with everything you've got!" Dion shouted. Nidoking materialized in mid air and came down to the ground with a crash, slamming both fists into the earth.

"Run you two!" Ash shouted as the whole stadium shook. Huge pillars of stone began shooting up where the two Lucario had just been moments ago. They ran this way and that, causing the battlefield to become littered with stone between five and ten feet tall. It was becoming difficult to see at ground level.

"Lucario stop him!" shouted Ash.

"Use it to you're advantage!" called Cynthia. As Ash's Lucario jumped up, Aura Sphere in hand, a cry could be heard from Empoleon as he was hit by a pillar. Seeing that Cynthia's Lucario had done his job well, Ash shouted,

"Do it now!" Lucario spread his hands, the already formed Aura Sphere on his left, and formed another Aura Sphere on his right; then he threw them both at Nidoking. Finally the pillars stopped forming.

The arena was transformed from a flat expanse to a forest of stone. It was an amazing sight. The Crowd was even louder now. Steven only had one Pokemon left, but it was obvious what it was going to be.

"Metagross!" and the crowd roared its approval at the floating tank of steel.

"Tyranitar, Earthquake!" shouted Dion, calling his final Pokemon to the field. Within seconds everything was shaking again, only this time, their Pokemon were surrounded by tons of rock.

"Lucario, up!" shouted Ash. Lucario jumped high, clearing the rock and Ash recalled him. "Gardevoir, get him out of there!" Many of the pillars collapsed, sending tons of rock crashing to the ground. The crowd held its breath as the dust settled, then cheered as Gardevoir appeared on top of a pillar with Lucario, who looked a little worse for wear, but all in all okay.

"Thank's Ash, Lucario return!" Cynthia said, relieved. "Rest up Lucario, you did great." She chose the final Pokemon on her belt. This was it. It was time to finish this battle and move to the finals. She wondered how Ash would react to this Pokemon of hers.

"Time to take the win...Gallade!" Both Ash and Gardevoir did a double take at that. The male counterpart of Gardevoir materialized on a nearby pillar, facing his opponents stoically, arms crossed and arm-blades sheathed. Not even the excitement that the Sinnoh Champion was using a Pokemon no one even knew that she had before, put even the slightest dent in his calm. "Surprise," Cynthia said to Ash with a smile.

"You did that on purpose," Ash accused. Then he grinned. "Let's rock!"

"Begin!"

"Metagross, Psychic!" shouted Steven. The loose rubble around Metagross rose and began spinning around him, seconds later the rocks all came flying at Gardevoir.

"Gardevoir, if you would..." said Ash calmly. For the first time in months, Gardevoir was completely restored to her full strength. She expended energy regularly out of habit at all points of the day, not just battling. This time however, Ash hadn't let her out and about until just now, and it was about time that she started understanding what she could do if she managed her power better. What she was truly capable of.

Gardevoir raised her hand and instantly the incoming attack changed direction, rocketing into the ground. She smiled.

"_Hmm. Too much?"_

"Gallade!" called Cynthia. Gallade vanished, reappearing directly behind Tyranitar. "Leaf Blade!" Gallade unsheathed his arm-blades, both glowing green. The attack took the unsuspecting Tyranitar full on, knocking him forward into a pillar, crushing it. After watching Gardevoir successfully battle everything in this way Cynthia would have been a fool not to adopt some of that strategy for Gallade. It wasn't like he could do it as well as Gardevoir but against another Pokemon it worked well.

"Tyranitar, don't let him make a fool out of you! Dark Pulse!" shouted Dion. Tyranitar faced Gallade over his shoulder and shot a beam of swirling black energy at him.

"Protect!" shouted Cynthia, responding to Dion's command as opposed to what was happening. She couldn't see her Pokemon through the mess of rock. "Gallade! To me!" Instantly he appeared in front of her, completely unharmed. "Sorry just try to stay in my sight if you can help it."

Meanwhile, Gardevoir and Metagross were facing off in a Psychic battle, rocks flying to and fro, colliding with each other in the air. It didn't look like much was going on around them, but any rock that passed between the two Pokemon was instantly crushed into dust.

"Gardevoir! Flood him!" shouted Ash as Gardevoir avoided another attack from Metagross, this time coming within inches of her face. Gardevoir's power spiked, sending Metagross crashing into the rocks. "Double Team, both of you!" he continued, hoping that Gallade would listen. Cynthia nodded to him and suddenly there were dozens of Gardevoirs and Gallades throughout the battlefield.

"Cynthia, we should take their Pokemon one at a time, together. It'll just be easier that way," said Ash quietly to her, keeping an eye on his Pokemon. Cynthia nodded, frustrated.

"That's fine, but I just can't see what's going on with this mess in front of me. If I could, then Gallade will be able to attack quicker. I swear, sometimes it's like he's reading my..." Cynthia stopped as the obviousness of what she was about to say hit her. Reading her mind... duh.

"Oh, that's bugging you? We can fix that no problem. Can you get Gallade to loosen everything up?" Ash asked, his voice normal. Cynthia recognized the feeling she was getting, knowing that Ash was about to do something insane. She nodded.

"One sec..." she said, then thinking to Gallade she thought, _"Gallade, I need you to slice all the pillars at ground level. You _can _read my mind, can't you?"_

In answer to her silent call, a purple light seemed to sweep across the battlefield, by her feet. It was gone in a flash, and everything looked the same, but she had to believe that Gallade did it. Cynthia nodded at Ash.

"Okay," he said rubbing his hands together, "Gardevoir, stop playing tag with those two."

"Metagross! Sweep them all! Hyper Beam!" Steven was clearly frustrated, his Metagross even more so. Metagross shot a Hyper Beam through one end of the rocks and swept it to the other side, vaporizing more than half of them instantly. The copies all vanished, leaving Gallade and Gardevoir standing around in knee high rubble.

"Dark Pulse! Let them have it!" shouted Dion, finally able to attack again. Ash cursed as the two Pokemon dodged the attack.

"Well that was pointless," he said, totally annoyed that his plan wasn't able to be put into place. "Gardevoir, Energy Ball!" Gardevoir's attack connected with Tyranitar, but otherwise didn't do as much damage as he had hoped. Gallade closed in and used another Leaf Blade, but Tyranitar blocked it with an Iron Tail.

"Gallade, keep it up! X-Scissor!" That finally did some decent damage against Tyranitar. Cynthia had never seen such endurance before in an opponent's Pokemon. Then again, this was the first time she was battling another Champion. Ash meanwhile was at a loss to how to take the dark typed Pokemon down without having to deal with that Dark Pulse attack. If even a single of those hit Gardevoir, she would be seriously hurt, no matter how strong of an attacker she was. Then Ash noticed something, grinning.

"_You thinking what I'm thinking?"_ he shot at Gardevoir silently.

"_Your thoughts are always my focus,"_ came the reply, making him smile.

"Gardevoir! Do it!" he shouted, purposely pointing at Metagross, who was almost recovered from the Hyper Beam attack.

"Intercept it, Tyranitar!" yelled Dion at once, and Tyranitar quickly moved in between Metagross and the other two.

"_Haha, not,"_ Gardevoir taunted, eyes glowing blue with power. Tyranitar was suddenly knocked forward, making him lose his balance. He turned quickly to face his assailant only to meet him face on. Metagross bashed into Tyranitar again, sending them both sprawling. Gardevoir was taking her trainer's aggravation out on her opponents in a way that only she could: using Metagross as a really big bat. Nobody moved for a few seconds, completely thrown off by what they were seeing. Even Gallade looked a little bemused. Steven recovered first, shaking his head angrily.

"Metagross! Shake her control off now!" Steven roared. But his Pokemon had already been released. Immediately after the final strike, both Gallade and Gardevoir teleported right between Tyranitar and Metagross.

"Focus Blast!" shouted Ash.

"Fire Punch!" cried Cynthia.

The Pokemon were launched in opposite directions, crashing into the rubble, and finally coming to a stop. Silence permeated the stadium. The sudden stillness was odd after so much movement. Then at once, the stadium screamed and shouted with enough energy to power an entire city.

Ash looked at Cynthia who was smiling. She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and faced him. Ash put his hand up and after a moment, Cynthia slapped it. They had won.

XxxxxX

"Well he fell asleep fast."

"No kidding."

It was evening; Ash, Miranda, and Cynthia were relaxing in the grassy field outside the city, enjoying the change of pace. Following the end of the battle, the four semi-finalists had begun to make their way out of the waiting room only to find themselves surrounded by fans. Ash quickly pulled an emergency escape and had Gardevoir teleport him out of there. Cynthia, who was momentarily disgruntled that she had been left behind, remembered that she too had the means of escape; she soon followed Ash's example, Gallade vanishing them on the spot. She was really starting to like this new form of travel.

Wanting to get away from people in general, Ash and Cynthia dropped their Pokemon off at the Pokemon Center and waited for Miranda at her place. The moment she showed up, they moved to the same grassy field that they all loved so much. Around dinner time, Ash vanished to get them all food, and Cynthia went to pick up their healed Pokemon from the center. By the time the cloudless sky began to darken, Ash was snoozing silently, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. Gardevoir sat just behind him, stroking his hair fondly.

"_It is nice to see him sleeping so fitly,"_ she said to the two girls. _"Lately his thoughts have been in... __tumult."_

"I'm sure he'll feel better after the tournament is over," said Cynthia, her own hands running through Ninetales' silvery fur. From the moment she returned with their Pokemon, Cynthia hadn't once let go of the fox; not that Ninetales wanted to leave her. She lay happily across Cynthia's lap, immensely enjoying the attention and affection.

"_It's not the tournament he's been thinking about..."_ said Ninetales lazily, earning a stern look from Gardevoir.

"_It's not our place to say,"_ she shot, though her tone was gentle.

"Well, at least he's not snoring," said Miranda evenly. She grinned suddenly, reminded of something. "He used to though... I wonder when he stopped?" Cynthia blinked at this. "Oh not- It's not what you think," Miranda said quickly. "I was just reminded of when we first met; did he ever tell you?" The honest answer was yes, but Cynthia could sense that Miranda wanted to talk about something so instead she responded,

"About what?" Miranda smiled and stood up, beckoning for her to follow with a meaningful look at their sleeping companion. With a small tug at her heart, Cynthia extricated herself from beneath Ninetales, avoiding the heartbroken look the Pokemon was giving her. Taking one more glance at Ash, Cynthia followed Miranda off in a random direction. The sound of the Pokemon got softer as they walked off.

"You see, my first encounter with Ash was, well, he just kind of fell through my roof. It's true!" she swore, in response to the look Cynthia was giving her. "I was fourteen years old when we met. I lived by myself. Not that I don't have a family, it just that once I was ten I started to live at the shrine and..."

Miranda came up short. She looked uneasy.

"What's wrong?" asked Cynthia.

"It's just, I've been lying to everyone about where I'm from," she said softly, sitting down on the grass. "Well, not lying... just not completely honest. It's complicated."

"You don't have to say if you don't want to," Cynthia said, taking a seat as well.

"No I want to tell you." Taking a breath Miranda began, "See, I know I said I was a descendant of the Eon tribe but that's not true. I actually _am_ a member of the tribe. Or at least I was," she amended.

"But the Eon Tribe vanished centuries ago," said Cynthia.

"I know, I've tried to find out what I can, but I honestly don't understand how I came to be in the same time as you all are but here I am." Miranda shrugged. "I've gotten used to a lot of things in this time but, there are still some aspects of life I need to work on. The things people do in public these days..."

"Don't worry about it," said Cynthia kindly. "Can't be helped."

"Wait, you honestly believe me?" said Miranda, taken aback.

"What, I shouldn't?"

"I mean, _I_ don't really believe me, so..." Cynthia laughed.

"Miranda," she said, "You have to understand something. Throughout my entire life I've encountered things that I didn't know existed; things that were the stuff of legends and fairy tails. Something like time travel isn't really that high up on my list. I mean there's a Pokemon that does that stuff anyway."

"Oh," said Miranda, slightly bemused. Cynthia had such a direct approach to life. It was one of the things that Miranda admired about her.

"Anyway, we're way off topic here, aren't we?" said Cynthia pointedly.

"Ah right, well I was living in the shrine at the time. I could hear this commotion happening far off in the village but I always was hearing things so I didn't pay it any attention. Suddenly this random boy crashed through the roof, landing right in front of me. I was uhh, a little naked at the time too," she added, producing a grin from Cynthia.

"A little?" Miranda ignored her comment.

"At first I had no idea what was going on, there was wood and dust everywhere; and there there was a boy practically in my lap. This was a while ago so he was more cute than handsome, but I was really interested in him. I mean how often do people from strange places come crashing through your roof? His clothing was completely different and he looked about my age. I just wanted to know all about him. I'd never even been outside the village before." Cynthia nodded, understanding. To her people, Miranda was a God, so it made sense that there were certain rules in place for them.

"So being who I am... who I was, I forbade anyone from harming him; and I nursed him back to health. I needed to keep him close to look after him and to keep him safe from everyone who didn't want him there so I made some space for him to live with me. It wasn't like anyone in the village could do anything about it so they just had to accept it." Miranda paused, looking at her feet, surrounded by wildflowers. "I guess it was a little immature of me, thinking on it.

"At first I though that once I learned about him, I'd lose interest and find something else to do but... Ash was so _different_. I mean," Miranda looked trying to convey what was becoming so difficult to put into words, "yeah, he was from a completely different culture. But that wasn't it. Unlike the rest of the village, Ash was... interested in me." Even in the fading light of the evening, Miranda's face went red. Cynthia was struck with a sudden thought. Perhaps the reason that Miranda wasn't so obvious about her feelings for Ash was because of her culture, as opposed to being due to her being halfhearted or even childish about it. What if such things were not discussed in public and relationships were maintained completely privately? It would certainly explain a lot; Miranda could be childish sometimes, surely, but Cynthia knew her better than to believe that she was immature.

"Interested?" Cynthia prodded, trying to keep Miranda going.

"Well he, he _liked_ me, and I could tell." Miranda suddenly turned to face Cynthia, her expression almost weary. "I never told Ash this, maybe he found out from an Elder or someone anyway, but people like me, we aren't permitted to... umm, have children. It's forbidden for anyone to propose vows to one of us either. It's seen as an offense to our existence."

"Well, that sucks," said Cynthia bluntly before she could stop herself.

"Yes, but I no longer belong to that culture any more. I just have memories," murmured Miranda, running her hands over her forearms. They stood in silence for a minute.

"Miranda, why are you telling me this?" asked Cynthia softly, deciding to speed things up. She regretted it instantly.

"You love Ash too, don't you?" Miranda said abruptly.

"Don't you think love is a bit strong of a term to use right away?" Suspicions confirmed, Cynthia still wasn't ready for the main topic of the night. Miranda looked at her shrewdly.

"Just because I wasn't allowed to love doesn't mean I've never been around it. It's all over the world in people _and_ Pokemon. Those who are deprived of it can usually see it more clearly than others," she added dully. Cynthia fidgeted, unused to being the target. "Plus, even in my culture it's obvious when two girls are going for the same guy."

"I still wouldn't call it love," she mumbled to her feet. "And besides, I wouldn't say I'm going for him. I'd say you've pretty much got him already." Miranda frowned, pulling her legs to her chest.

"That's not true. Lately time that he normally would spend with me has been turning more and more into time to spend with you."

"He's just being a good friend," said Cynthia.

"But what if he's not?" countered Miranda stubbornly.

"I don't know!"

The shout broke the calm of the night like a hammer to a glass window. "I don't know," she repeated more softly. "Why do you keep pushing it, anyway! Why are you even talking about this to me? I should be the _last_ person you have this kind of a talk with." Miranda looked at her feet before meeting Cynthia's eyes again.

"If I can't talk to Ash, and I can't talk to you, then who do I have left?"

Cynthia felt like something had formed in the pit of her stomach. The sad truth behind Miranda's words battled fiercely with the reality of the situation she was in the middle of. Ever since the night of the reunion she knew it would end up like this. She knew, the moment she said those joking words of hers it would start something she wouldn't be able to stop. But she wanted to say it, and so she had. And now this was where they were. Thinking back, she had inadvertently become Miranda's closest female friend. A girl who existed outside of practically everything she knew and was only just beginning to become natural in this new culture. A girl who had four _years_ of knowing Ash over herself. She must know so much about Ash personally and all that Cynthia knew about him was that he was an above average Pokemon trainer with a handsome face and sweet personality and... ugh not helping at all.

"Look," continued Cynthia, lowering her voice, "even if it were true, which it's not, what good does it do us?" Miranda avoided her gaze and Cynthia put her hands on both her hips. "What good does it do me? Ash loves you; I know it. You know it! The way he worries about you and talks about you isn't just friendly. He's also loyal to a fault. What's going on in my head is just a silly idea and it isn't worth thinking about. I've been trying _not_ to think about it!"

"But that's not right!" Miranda countered, upset. "He's been spending so much less time with me and so much more time alone with you! He doesn't confide in me about anything these days either. It's always, 'I need to talk to Cynthia,' or 'She would know what I meant'. It's frustrating! It hurt to watch you both battle together."

"Miranda..."

"I'm sorry I'm forcing all this on you. I really am. And I don't want to fight with the very first close girl friend I've made, but," Miranda finally met Cynthia's eyes again, "faced with not speaking at all, what choice do I have? Letting things sit would only make them worse later."

"I'm not going to fight you over this," she said quietly. "I refuse."

"_You know,"_ came Ninetales' voice out of the void. The two turned to see the fox approaching them at a leisurely pace. _"Even if he _did _choose one of you over the other, he wouldn't leave you. He is...the kind __to never abandon, to cherish and protect, and live. This is why even I hold a certain amount of love for him. I only wish he were a Ninetales...he certainly has some fox in him."_ Miranda and Cynthia watched in silence as Ninetales passed them and continued off on her walk. Just before they lost sight of her she mused, _"You could always try sharing him. I doubt he would complain."_ Both girls just stood there, watching where the fox Pokemon had been last. Cynthia glanced at Miranda.

"Don't tell me you're actually considering it."

"Well, to be fair, in the village there were men with more than one wife," said Miranda, trying to explain herself. "Marriage was pretty much joining a household and having a child, and no one ever left a household like in the divorce thing people do here. Um, the women just kind of moved around every now and then... Okay maybe living in this culture for a few years _does_ make it look a little... loose," Miranda finished in a small voice, embarrassed at what she had just partially defended.

"A little," repeated Cynthia blankly, "and how many siblings did you have?"

"Seven, oh shut up," she snapped as Cynthia snorted in laughter.

"Sorry," she apologized. "but there's no way that would work. I don't know, maybe once the tournament is over we can try to figure out what to do. Now I just..." she fell silent. Neither girl knew what to say to the other.

"Don't get me wrong," said Miranda suddenly. She looked like she was wrestling with herself about something. "I won't share him either. I... I do want him all to myself. But I've had a lot of time with him you haven't, so- so I'll let you have him just for tonight." She looked at the taller woman fiercely. "Not a bit more!" Turning, Miranda ran away nimbly, leaving Cynthia to stare after her. She couldn't help but laugh a bit. Even when faced with such a situation, Miranda was an innocent soul and a wonderful friend. It was refreshing in a way.

"She's so annoying. Getting into all that just because I said I liked him a bit. Just a bit!" she called after the girl.

"Just a bit what?"

Cynthia turned so quickly she toppled to one side. Strong arms quickly caught her before she completely fell over. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you so badly, are you alright?" asked Ash. He helped her straighten. Cynthia was glad the darkness hid her blush.

"It's alright, I'm fine," she said quickly. "What brings you all the way over here?"

"Just seeing what's up," he said lazily. "Speaking of what's up, isn't this cool?"

It was fully dark now, and they sky was completely filled with stars; not hundreds of ordinary white dots of light, but hundreds of thousands of them. Some were different colors, and she could even see something that looked like a purple and yellow cloud way off in the distance. It was beautiful. Even the moon was a bright sphere in the distant sky. Had she really just had an entire conversation, oblivious to her surroundings?

Cynthia stood there, struck by the magnificence above her. Suddenly the fact that she would be facing Ash in two days time seemed so insignificant. Why was she even here? In the end, what did any of this mean to her? Her interests, her life, belonged in unexplored ruins and the mysteries of the past. She felt so out of place. Unaware of Cynthia's inner turmoil, Ash walked a short ways away to a small group of stones and sat against one, still staring up at the sky. Cynthia watched his features, illuminated by the moonlight. With first one step, then another, she moved closer to him.

_'It's alright if it's just once, right?'_

She was only a few feet away from him now. Arm outstretched, she drew even closer. What did it matter if it wasn't meant to be?

_'She said I could have him for one night. It's her fault if anything she doesn't like happens after all...'_

She was now close enough to his back that any further forward and she would be on top of him. Ash still didn't move, nor did he give any indication that he knew she was there. He must though. All she had to do was touch him. Just once. She reached out slowly but...

Her arm fell. _'I can't. I just can't do it!'_ That wall was there, impossibly high. How could she ever hope to scale something Miranda had so deeply built in Ash's heart. A single tear ran down her cheek, past her chin, down her neck, and under her shirt. It felt like ice against her warm skin. _'Dammit, dammit, dammit!'_

"It really is beautiful, isn't it..." she said softly, looking up at the stars once again.

"Yeah..."


	10. Where it Actually All Starts

"Ash, are you listening?"

"Wha-?" Ash looked over at May, who was clearly annoyed. She shook her head in exasperation and continued to the others,

"See, told you; head in the clouds. Don't pay any attention to it Dawn, just keep going."

It was mid afternoon of the next day. Ash and the gang had decided to spend one more day hanging out before letting himself and Cynthia off to prepare for the final match. Usually, only a day would be given for the finalists to do so, however in this case an extra day was added because of preparations for the battlefield. Scott had mentioned that they were setting a slightly different stage for the battle, and Ash decided it was better not to ask. For all he knew, Scott was doing something even crazier than usual.

At the moment, they were all taking a tour of the southern reaches of Element City. Dawn, who knew most of the city by shopping everywhere, was acting as a guide for the group. She walked a little ahead of everyone, pointing out interesting places here and there along with important landmarks (clothing stores). Not surprisingly, Miranda, Cynthia, May, Misty, and Anabel were all completely following Dawn's every word. Ash, Brock, and Max were a little less than enthusiastic about it, but they kept up with the others. Out of desperation, Max began talking to Brock about aspects of training and breeding, for which Brock seemed quite relieved. A sudden burst of excitement rose from the front group, grabbing Ash's attention.

"_Exactly._ I couldn't have said it better myself," Dawn was saying. "I know you love what you do right now Gary, but it's too bad you don't have your own clothing shop. I know I'd be in there all the time." The others made general sounds of agreement. Gary however shook his head, holding up his hands, the image of modesty.

"You flatter me Dawn," he replied, "but I'm not saying anything impressive. Anyone can pick two things that look nice together; it's just a matter of taking the time to really give it some thought."

_'Good god, I forgot he was here,'_ thought Ash, rolling his eyes at Pikachu, who returned the look clearly saying, 'Ugh don't remind me.' It wasn't that they disliked Gary. On the contrary, Ash was happy to see this unexpected guest. Still, he _was_ Gary after all. As it happens, Gary had been in and out of Element doing work for his grandfather, Professor Oak. The day before he had brought Professor Oak and Ash's own mother, Delia, with him. He still hadn't gotten a chance to see either of them, but he knew he should soon.

The group continued to walk and Ash's mind returned to where it had been all day: Cynthia. Or more specifically, the time they had spent together the previous night while they looked at the stars. He had waited for her to do something; to say something. But in the end she had only said, 'It really is beautiful, isn't it.' That was it. What was going through her mind at the time Ash didn't have the slightest idea.

Above all, he was annoyed with himself for wanting something to happen; for _expecting_ something to happen. When had become so arrogant to to think that she liked him any more than as a friend would? In the end, nothing had happened. Was Misty right? Was he overreacting? Reading too far into everything, not matter how small? Glancing over at Cynthia he thought of how close she had gotten to him and felt his pulse quicken. Did nothing really happen? And what about Miranda? His feelings regarding her weren't so simple either. When the hell did things get so complicated?

Mind overloaded with minor panic, Ash almost failed to notice a young boy standing almost directly in front of him.

"Wahh!" Ash veered sharply to avoid colliding with the small kid and lost his balance, landing to the side on his behind. Everyone turned quickly at the sound, also surprised by the sudden appearance of the child.

"Will!" came a cry from nearby. A middle aged man hurried over to the group, clearly after the kid. "Ah, I'm so sorry about that Mr. Ketchum, I guess he got a little excited." One hand resting on the boy's head to prevent him from moving, the man offered Ash his other, which he took, standing up.

"Don't worry about it, I should have been paying more attention anyway. And it's Ash," he added shaking the man's hand.

"Of course. My name is Issac, and this is my son, William," Issac said ruffling his son's hair. Will was looking at Ash is such a way that he couldn't tell what the kid might be thinking. "My wife and daughter are just behind us; we were out for a walk when the kids spotted you two and wanted to meet you," he explained, looking at Cynthia as well. "Of course, it is an honor to meet you as well, Champi- err, Cynthia." He changed what he was saying when she gave him a face. Ash knelt in front of Will so that they were about eye level. He was a young kid; probably six or so years old. Ash could see a woman and a young girl approaching from behind them. Probably the other half of the family.

"So, Will," he said to the boy, "what can I do for you?"

"Just wanted t' see you up close," he said shortly. Ash ignored the smothered giggles from behind him. Determined not to leave it at that he smiled and asked quickly,

"Do you want to become a Pokemon trainer when you're older?"

"I'm gonna be a Pokemon master, like Dad," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. At that moment, Ash thought he felt a small tug somewhere, but he couldn't place it.

"I see. He's strong?" Ash asked Will. Will, oblivious to all others, nodded.

"Yep, he's the strongest." Issac was scratching the back of his head, unsure how to respond to this. Ash however, was somewhat enjoying himself now.

"Well then, we'll have to battle sometime," said Ash, tilting his head slightly. Issac grinned.

"Absolutely. The next time you come to Element, swing by here and we'll have a match. Can't tire you out for the finals now, can we?" Cynthia walked over, leaving the other girls to their chatter.

"Yes, otherwise it won't be fun," she said nodding.

"Issac," called the approaching woman. The little girl stuck close to her mother at they drew even with the group. "Hello everyone, nice to meet you," said the mother immediately. "I'm Issac's wife, Lauren and this is our daughter, Samantha... who's already in heaven," she finished with a sigh, looking at her daughter. Samantha was completely enraptured by Cynthia, who from the look of it was used to such reactions. Spotting the small camera in the girl's hand, Cynthia said,

"Do you want to take a picture with me?" Samantha could only nod, bemused by this dreamlike day she was experiencing. While May took a couple pictures of the two, the parents turned to thank Ash.

"You really don't need to say anything," Ash said quickly, before they could. "To me, being a Pokemon trainer is one of the greatest things in life, so I'm always happy to advertise it, you know?" He laughed.

"Still," said Issac, "we greatly appreciate it." Lauren nodded, picking up where her husband stopped.

"And I must say, you've achieved so much even though you're still so young. Twenty years old and already on top of the world." She smiled. "Your parents must be very proud of you."

"My parents? Ahh. I mean, yes of course they are," Ash said, faltering slightly. Gary looked at him suspiciously but said nothing. The pictures were still being taken and the group was chatting loudly. Ash checked his watch. "I'm feeling restless so I'm gonna go on ahead. Gary, can you-" Ash trailed off, but Gary picked it up almost at once.

"Yeah, I'll take care of things here," he said, also checking his watch. Stepping on Max's foot to prevent him from saying anything, Gary moved to the family as Ash walked down the road with Pikachu on his shoulder. "Don't mind him, he's just probably hungry or something."

"Oh it's alright. I'm sorry to bother you all like this while you're taking the day to yourselves.

"Don't let it bother you one bit. We're all glad we stopped for a bit anyway. And plus, Ash always has his head in the clouds to begin with, so he probably wouldn't have realized it until it got dark."

After a round of thank yous and goodbyes the family of four continued on their way back home, as the group made their way in the direction Ash went. The moment that the family was clearly out of earshot, the silence evaporated.

"Why did Ash do that?" said Max at once, determined to get the first word in as Gary had stopped him earlier.

"Just use your head next time and read the situation better," said Gary flatly.

"Hey, don't be like that to my brother, he's not that bright to begin with," shot May, "and stop dodging the question."

"What is it?" said Cynthia, frowning. The others stared at him intently, waiting for him to clarify what had just happened. Gary said nothing, staring at the ground hard.

"It has to do with Ash's father, right?" asked Brock with a frown. "I thought he looked a bit off when they were talking about parents." Gary sighed heavily.

"You sure you want to know? You'll probably regret it," said Gary, continuing down the road, though now at a very slow pace. The streets were void of all life but them.

"I've never heard Ash mention his father before while I've been with him," said Miranda, sifting through her mind. "Even though we've been traveling around for four years."

"Honestly, that's not surprising at all," said Gary.

"Ash is our friend," said Dawn kindly. "I want to be able to support him, so please tell us." Gary looked at her a moment then nodded.

"Sorry, but I just need to make sure you guys understand how taboo this is around him. When I was a kid, Grandpa had rules that I had to follow always. Be kind to Pokemon, wash your hands a lot, don't leave the lab door open, and never under any circumstances mention Ash's father around him. I'm sure I missed a few there, but you guys get what I mean right?"

"To be honest," said May, "I never really even thought about it before. I mean I know about Ash's mom, but I never really thought about his dad at all. It's not like it ever came up."

"Is there something wrong with his father?" asked Miranda a split second before Cynthia, making the question sound like a discordant harmony.

"You could say that..."

XxxxX

Ash finally came to a rest in a small park somewhere. He had no idea where he was, but the random groups of bushes and trees that were close together in this park were just the isolation he was unconsciously looking for. He lay on his back, staring up into the lower branches of the surrounding trees. Pikachu was sitting on his chest, providing him with the kind of support that only Pikachu could do: shock therapy.

"Alright! I promise I wont run off randomly like that again without warning you first. Ouch..." grumbled Ash, still staring straight up. "I just... didn't know what to do, you know?" Pikachu's face appeared in front of his own, his ears twitching slightly. Ash didn't need aura to know what he was thinking. "You sure you want to hear about it? It's not a good story. Geeze, never thought I'd ever be explaining this to anyone." He sat up, Pikachu jumping down to his side, and tapped four of the pokeballs at his waist. At once he was surrounded by the Pokemon who had been battling at his side for years.

"What's wrong, Ash," asked Lucario, taking charge as he was looking around at the enclosure they were in.

"Ah, I was going to tell Pikachu a story but I guess he thought everyone should hear it?" Ash replied, unsure how to go about doing this. Pikachu nodded, sitting down. What was he supposed to say? That he just wanted to tell them about his sorry excuse for a father? There wasn't any point to this at all.

"That's not true, Ash," came a soothing voice from behind him. He turned to see Gardevoir standing o few feet away from the group, approaching slowly. Ash blinked; it was not often that he ever saw Gardevoir purposely walking on the ground or speaking aloud for that matter. She took a seat between Lucario and Zangoose, who nodded in agreement at her words.

"Yeah, we all want to know things about you. We want to share them with you..." Ninetales draped herself across his lap like an oversized cat. Behind her, Armaldo was sitting in silence, waiting for it to begin. He was always like that.

"Alright then," said Ash, seeing that he had everyone's full attention, "This won't be long or anything. It's more or less a little info on my life from when I was a kid- err a while before I became a Pokemon trainer," he corrected, feeling the slight time confusion from the group. Ash sighed and took a breath.

"The thing is, I never actually had a father."

"Never had...?" repeated Miranda, clearly troubled. "I don't understand, isn't that impossible?" Gary put his face in his hands. Sometimes this girl could be extremely unhelpful when it came to social tact.

"Well, obviously he _had_ a father for him to be born in the first place," Gary said shortly. Seeing that she was about to say something else he continued quickly, "You see, the guy just wasn't around after the fact. As far as I know, only Gramps and Ash's Mom know what he even looks like. Apparently, he was a trainer who traveled all over the place for long amounts of time. That's what I was told... by Ash."

"I remember telling Gary and the others about how my dad was supposed to be this amazing Pokemon trainer who went all over the world and had dangerous adventures and so on and so on. In short, I wanted to be just as great as he was. I was about four years old at the time, I think." Ash took of his cap and ruffled his hair briefly. He was surprised at how easy it was to talk about this. "It wasn't just a story to me. I fully believed every word I said. I'm pretty sure that my mom and Professor Oak said the same kind of thing to the other adults if it ever came up; I mean, those two are the ones I heard about him from to begin with. But..." Ash paused, frowning as he remembered, "as time went on, I began to doubt. Not seriously at first, but enough that it stayed in the back of my mind. And then," Ash clenched his fist unconsciously, "I found out the truth."

–

**Pallet Town, Oak's Lab, approximately 14 years ago.**

Two small boys chased a Rattata across the yard. Apparently it was tired of playing with them because it quickly made an exit into the brush near the house.

"Aww man, I almost had it," said a young Ash, finally coming to a stop and sitting on the soft grass. Footsteps made him look around.

"Too bad Ash, better luck next time," said Gary. He sat down as well. "Maybe next time you should try something slower, like a Caterpie." Ash stuck his tongue out at his friend who was laughing.

Ash looked up at the sky. It was late in the evening, darkness falling over the quaint town. "I'm thirsty, can we get some juice?" Ash said after a second.

"Yeah, I'll ask Grandpa, come on." They walked into the house looking for Professor Oak. After a second they heard soft talking. "I guess your mom and Grandpa are still talking," Gary said.

"Let's go listen!" said Ash excitedly, and crept off.

"Wait Ash!" hissed Gary, following. He caught up to Ash at the end of the hall. "Ash we shouldn't-"

"Shhhh, Gary, shut up! I can't hear them."

"Who cares, this is stupid. I thought you were thirsty!"

"Shhhh!"

Earlier that day, Ash had celebrated his sixth birthday at the Oak Lab, courtesy of Professor Oak. Much of the remnant party decorations had already been cleaned and now the Professor sat at the dinner table with Delia, talking softly over coffee.

"But I really have to thank you again, Sam, for letting us have the party here," Delia was saying. "I wouldn't have asked normally but the house..."

"Looks like a couple of Tauros played tag in it, right? Not a problem, Delia, not a problem," said Oak shortly. "You have a lot on your plate. Running the restaurant and raising a child by yourself is no small feat."

"_You_ seem to be managing alright," added Delia wryly. Oak chuckled softly, pouring himself another cup.

"Yes," he said, "but Delia, remember that _I_ routinely deal with small creatures that have the ability to level houses."

"And how is that any different?"

They laughed in good humor. Gary shook his head, still uninterested, but Ash wasn't moving for anything. Professor Oak continued the conversation as the laughter died away.

"Now tell me, what's been bothering you lately? I know we haven't been able to talk decently for a while now because it's been so busy these past few months."

"It's about Ash," Delia said after a moment. Gary quickly glanced at Ash who had stiffened, looking worried. "Recently he's been bringing up his father a lot more than usual. He wanted to know why he hasn't come home yet at all, even for his birthday. How long am I supposed to keep doing this, Sam? I hate it; lying to my only son." Ash clapped a hand over his mouth before he made a sound.

_What? Lying?_

"Delia, your voice," Oak warned softly then continued, "To be honest I'm not sure. I feel that it is far too early to tell him, but I know we can't keep this from him for his whole life."

"That's just it though!" Delia's voice rose again, slightly hysteric. "Even though I have to tell him, just how do I tell my son that his father left us before he was even _born_. I don't want him to go through that like I did... when he left with E-" A thump from the hallway drew the conversation up short. Ash had fallen to his knees, his balance momentarily off. Gary was speechless, unable to move, staring at Ash.

_No way._

"Did you hear that?"

_Dad... left?_

"It came from the hall, but aren't the kids outside?"

_Before I was born?_

"Don't get up, Delia, I'll check it."

_No way._

Ash ran out of the building, the door bouncing against the frame.

"NO WAY!"

XxxxxX

Glancing around, Gary was already regretting that he had said anything to begin with; and from the look of it, they were regretting they ever asked; just as he said they would. He took a breath and instantly all eyes were on him.

"Grampa came to the hallway and found me standing there. That plus the door being slammed pretty much gave us up. Ash's mom ended up running out after him and I stayed inside. Grampa obviously wasn't going to tell me anything else. I asked if it was true, and he said yes. That was it." Gary stood up with a slight groan; he felt so worn out for some reason. "Satisfied? If you want to know any more then ask Ash yourself."

"I didn't run that far. Mom caught up with me pretty fast anyway. Long story short, I made it through the night, but I was totally different for a while; you know, moody and whatnot. Sure I was angry, beyond angry, but what could I do about it? I was a little kid after all. So I made a vow to become the most powerful and famous Pokemon trainer alive. A Pokemon master so great that no matter where that guy was in the world he would hear about me and see what a bad decision he made to leave; make him see what an amazing son he _could_ have been the father of."

Ash looked around at the faces surrounding him and smiled. "But you know," he continued to them, "it's pretty silly to begin with. I mean, I practically forgot about the whole thing the day I got Pikachu from Professor Oak. It would come back to me occasionally, but the more people and Pokemon I met, the more friends I made, the less and less my reasons actually mattered. It was more about just doing it." Ash looked at his watch. He didn't really want to get back to the others just yet, but he was becoming restless just sitting around. In any case, his story was over.

It took a while to convince Ninetales that she couldn't just lay there forever. Even then she didn't want to get back inside her pokeball, so Ash decided to let her walk with him. It wasn't like he was trying to hide any of his Pokemon anymore. Gardevoir vanished as usual and the others were recalled, Pikachu taking his place on Ash's shoulder. "Well, how about a little walk before we find the others?"

XxxxX

"Hey, do you think that Ash just left?" suggested Max.

"Left? As in back to the hotel?" asked Cynthia, frowning in thought.

"Somehow, I doubt it," said Gary, scratching his head. "I mean, sure he wanted his time, but he's not exactly a kid anymore."

"I still don't think that there's any point looking around for him," repeated Miranda with a small sigh. "Gardevoir can take him wherever he wants so he'll come back when he does; and I know he will, that's just how he is sometimes," she added with a nod. The rest of the group exchanged silent glances. Sure they were all Ash's friends, but the Ash they had been reunited with recently was certainly far removed from the Ash of the past that they knew so well. Even after nearly a month, there were still plenty of occasions where he did something that caught them all off guard; though usually it was an attitude thing.

"You've said that, Miranda, but where's the harm in looking around?" Misty said, being patient for a change. To the others she continued, "Let's just ask someone if he's been around this way."

"That's if we actually _see_ anyone else," said May. "I thought this city was supposed to have a ton of people living in it. So where in the world is everyone... oh."

May stopped short, unprepared for the abrupt change in setting. Within a matter of seconds, the small, seemingly isolated street they were following had suddenly opened up into a large plaza which was filled with activity. A burst of water drew everyone's attention to the large fountain that dominated the center of the area. Trainers and other people sat around the edges of the fountain watching the various water Pokemon that swam around inside it. Closest to the fountain were a number of small tables with seats, as well as the occasional snack vendor. People moved about here and there, going into shops that lined the perimeter and coming out laden with bags. A group of giggling teens passed right in front of them, absorbed in the outfits they had just bought.

"Dawn, you never mentioned this place when we were walking earlier," said May, giving Dawn a look of pure bewilderment. "Why...?"

"Don't look at me like that, I've never been here before!" she said quickly, putting up her hands in defense. "Seriously though, shops aside, the people in this city sure do love their fountains."

"What ever gave you that idea," joked Cynthia, watching as the water Pokemon let loose another round of vertical water guns. "Miranda? Where are you going?" Everyone looked at Miranda, who was starting to walk off to their right.

"I thought we were going to go ask someone about Ash, am I right?" She looked from the group to Cynthia, then continued walking.

"Uhh, why don't we just split up here and relax?" said Cynthia quickly, already moving to go after Miranda. "Just keep an eye out while you take it easy," and she was off, calling for Miranda to wait up. The others traded looks then shrugged.

"Searching and shopping? Works for me. Why don't we try..."

XxxxX

"I said wait, dammit!"

Miranda turned to see Cynthia hurrying over, her face disgruntled. "Sorry about that, Cynthia. Didn't hear you," she said as Cynthia came level with her. They continued walking along the perimeter of the plaza.

"Somehow I don't think that was the case," Cynthia said, irritated by the obvious lie. "Ears like a-"

"N-no!" Miranda stammered, biting her cheek at her sudden loss of control. "I meant I didn't hear you because I was lost in thought..." She glanced up into Cynthia's glare before looking at the ground and finished, "...about what Gary just said." At that, Cynthia's anger subsided. She looked at the depressed girl in front of her, suddenly giving the impression of being much younger than she actually was. Cynthia gave the immediate area a quick scan before finding what she wanted.

"Come on, let's get a coffee or something."

Five minutes later, the two of them sat in a pleasant cafe which was situated between a flower shop and an equally small clothing shop. Cynthia and Miranda were the only ones in the place apart from the middle aged man who sat behind the counter and the young waitress, who from the resemblance was most likely his daughter.

"Here you go," she said cheerfully, placing two identical mugs in front of Cynthia and Miranda. Miranda pulled her mug close and inhaled deeply, drinking the aroma. Before she could take a sip however she stopped, eyes darting between Cynthia and the waitress.

"What?" she said defensively, looking at them with suspicion. "You aren't tricking me or anything right?" Cynthia shook her head quickly while the waitress merely smiled, amusement in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude or anything," the young girl said politely, "I've just never really met anyone who didn't know what hot chocolate was."

"Rin, I know you're having fun, but..." her father pointed at the front door, where two new customers had just entered.

"Ahh, sorry! Let me know if you need anything else, okay?" she added to Cynthia and Miranda. "Enjoy!"

The two sat in silence for a time, though the hot chocolate helped to warm them up. Miranda was staring into the bottom of her mug. She didn't know how to say what she was thinking; so much had happened in the past few days, it was like she didn't know anything again...or what to believe now.

"You..." began Cynthia, and Miranda looked up. "You really didn't know anything, did you," she continued after a pause. Miranda shook her head slowly.

"No, he never talked about his family really. Just that he lived with his mom... no siblings. I guess at the time it didn't really matter," she said softly. She sat up a little straighter. "Well, in a way it still doesn't. Ash is Ash."

"Yeah..."

"But you know," Miranda leaned forward and, as if there were others listening in to there conversation, lowered her voice, "I'm pretty sure we didn't get the complete story from Gary."

"What do you mean? You think he lied about something?" Cynthia said, frowning at the idea. Miranda shook her head.

"No, not _lied_, just not all the truth." Cynthia considered what Miranda had said.

"Well, I mean it's definitely possible. What makes you think that he intentionally left something out anyway?"

"I don't know, just a hunch," said Miranda with a shrug. "My hunches are usually right too so-" She stopped talking suddenly, completely still.

"Miranda, what-" but Miranda put up a hand to silence Cynthia who obeyed, sensing her seriousness.

"I heard the word 'aura'," she said softly, relaxing back to a more natural position. "The two women at the other table. Listen, you should be able to hear them fine actually." Cynthia gave Miranda a surprised look.

"Eavesdropping? Seriously?"

"It's a hunch. A hunch."

XxxxX

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Seriously, Gary, I'm fine." Ash was leaning against the side of a building at the edge of the plaza. Gary stood in front of him, looking uneasy. "And would you stop looking like that, you're making me nervous." Gary shook his head.

"Look Ash, I-"

"You told them all, right?" Ash said, cutting him off. Gary met Ash's eyes then nodded stiffly. Ash sighed in relief. "Ahh good. Well, that takes a load off my mind." Gary blinked, unsure of what he just heard.

"I just broke the biggest promise I've ever made with you and the first thing out of your mouth is 'ahh good'. You're taking this rather well, considering the subject matter," he said flatly. Ash pushed off the wall and clapped him on the shoulder, looking off into the distance.

"Gary, a good friend keeps his promises _and_ knows when to break them," he said with false bravado. "But seriously though, it's cool. I mean, I haven't thought about that guy for a really long time anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, alright I got it. Paws off Ashey Boy," Gary said with an attempt at the younger version of himself, shaking off the hand. Ash grinned.

"So where's everyone else?" he asked, resuming his loitering position. Gary smirked.

"By everyone you mean Miranda and Cynthia right?" he said coolly, inspecting his finger nails innocently. Ash sighed, shaking his head.

"If you knew I meant that then why are you asking me such a pointless question?" he shot back. Satisfied with Ash's response, Gary shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. The whole group split up in this place and all I know is that those two went off together that way." He pointed to the other side of the plaza. Unconsciously Ash switched on his aura radar, looking for the two. Being so close, he found them instantly, and true to Gary's word, they were on the other side of the plaza. From their proximity and lack of movement, it appeared they were sitting somewhere together. "What is it?" asked Gary suddenly.

"Huh?" said Ash, confused by the question.

"You look like something's bothering you," he explained. They began walking across the plaza, Ash leading the way.

"Oh, nothing's wrong," said Ash thoughtfully. "It's just there's two other people right near Miranda and Cynthia, and one of them has an interesting aura... well both actually, but that's on a different level so never mind that. I feel like I kind of know one, but I wonder who it could be."

"Okay..." said Gary, shaking his head at the last bit. "So explain to me how you found them so quickly. Gimmie a break, it's actually pretty interesting." They started walking in a direction. Gary had no idea where they were going but Ash seemed very sure of himself.

"If you say so," said Ash, amused. "Well I'm not really sure how it works but it's more or less a radar for aura. So if I closed my eyes I could still tell you where everyone was. But that's pretty much it. I might be able to tell that there's someone fifteen feet in front of me, but that person could easily be behind a wall, or in a building or whatever."

"So, life detection," Gary said shortly.

"Yep," Ash nodded. "Oh, and it also doesn't tell me who or what a person is. I can only tell where specific people are if I know their aura in the first place. So if I don't know you I certainly won't be able to find you. And here we are," he finished, drawing their attention to the little cafe next to a flower shop. "Cute."

XxxxX

Oblivious to the pair of eavesdroppers mere feet away from their table, the two women carried on their conversation in good spirits. Suddenly, the younger of the two gave a start.

"Wah! Nel, did you feel that?"

Nel raised her eyebrows. "You mean when you kicked me just now?" she said with a smirk, her long platinum locks quivering slightly with suppressed mirth.

"Right. Been over this. You can't sense aura at all."

"Quite so, Em. So what was it? Looks like you got hit with ice water," said Nel.

"More like a pulse than anything," said Em, rubbing her arms like they were numb.

"You're right, even your hair looks a little charged," said Nel, looking at the younger woman's hair. Instantly Em's hands shot to her short, jet black hair. Seeing that Nel was just playing with her, Em dropped her hands and continued,

"Alright, you win. _Anyway_ someone with a lot of aura just sent a big wave of it over the area, and now I can tell he's getting closer." Em closed her eyes for a second then said, "Actually he's heading right at us, give or take a shop," she added with a shrug.

"If you only knew how paranoid that just sounded..." Nel mused.

"Do I seriously look worried in the slightest? If something does happen then I'll take him out, no sweat. Jeeze, you don't have to look that disbelieving, it was a joke." Em grumbled a bit, making Nel smile.

"How do you know it's a him?" asked Nel, changing the subject. Em folded her arms across her chest.

"Well it sure as hell isn't a girl. Girls are more, uhhh, gentle?"

"Gentle like you, or gentle like me?" said Nel slowly, grinning to show teeth.

"Like the waitress," Em chuckled then finished off her drink. "Joking aside though, now that he's closer I can tell he's definitely Guardian level but doesn't seem like much more than that. Aura's a little strange though... it kinda flickers..." she faded out, lost in thought.

"I guess we'll find out who it is when he get's here then," said Nel lazily, leaning back in her seat and looking at the door.

"Huh? Oh yeah," Em said quickly, looking at the door. "He's here."

XxxxxX

The first thing that Ash saw when he entered the quaint cafe was Nel. She was impossible to miss sitting against the far wall in a booth, staring directly at him, trying to make out his face through the afternoon glare of the sun. She was sitting with a young woman who he figured was a little older than himself. A quick glance around the cafe showed him that the place was otherwise practically empty, with the exception of another couple a few booths down. Cynthia and Miranda were watching the door as well.

"Good afternoon. Shall I set up a table for two?" The young waitress startled him but he kept it hidden.

"No, thank you," Ash replied, "we're actually meeting up with them." He gestured to the back tables and said softly to Gary, "Just go sit with Cynthia. Tell her to get ready to leave." Gary hesitated, clearly wanting to ask questions, but he decided against it. As Gary was making his way to Cynthia and Miranda, Ash quietly continued to the waitress, "We're all about to leave so where can I pay for their tabs?"

"Oh, of course. At the counter with my father," she said, confused.

After paying for the two tables, Ash walked casually over to Nel's table, stopping a foot away. Nel's companion had glanced at Gary as he went to the other table before returning her attention to Ash.

"Hello, Nel, remember me?" Nel's grin widened in apparent delight.

"All grown up and an Aura Guardian to boot. My how the time flies," she said, her voice hard to read.

"So you've heard about me? I'm touched," Ash matched her tone. He leaned over placing his hands on the table and continued, "So tell me, when did you get your memory back?" Nel laughed lightly.

"Damn, and I was hoping you wouldn't notice, too. Some girl who was helping me brush my hair seemed to pull a bit too hard. Made everything snap right back," she said with a shrug. Ash shook his head lightly at the ridiculousness of the scenario. Suddenly her tone became much more normal, all playfulness gone. "It's been so long and so much has changed since I last... saw the world _this_ way. Pull up a chair, Ash, there's so much to catch up on."

Ash stood up, shaking his head. "You know, I was just thinking the same thing but I can't sit. You see, we were actually all just leaving."

And they vanished.


	11. Ashes and Embers

"Something wrong?" Ash leaned back against the side of a building, watching Nel and her friend patiently. It wasn't everyday that someone got to experience teleportation for the first time, especially right in the middle of a meal. Nel and her friend were across from Ash in the same position they were moments earlier. The only difference now was that they were sitting in chairs, which Gardevoir had clearly borrowed from a nearby table, and that they were both facing Ash. As the younger of the two women attempted to stand Ash said quickly, "You might actually want to sit for a bit longer. That kind of travel isn't something that most people can handle the first time." His words earned him a glare from the girl but she eased herself back into the chair anyway.

"I'm impressed Ash, really," said Nel, crossing her legs like nothing had happened. "Well, more nauseous, but still impressed."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Ash, shrugging his shoulders. "By the way," he added the other girl, "you sure keep dangerous company. Do you even know who she is?" The girl stood up.

"Yeah, do you?"

"Sure do," Ash nodded, "You on the other hand not so much."

"Her name is Ember Meres. She's a friend of mine," said Nel, also standing.

"A friend huh? I'm Ash Ketchum," said Ash, stepping forward and holding out his hand. Ember glanced at it before pointedly crossing her arms across her chest.

"The tournament finalist, right? Pleasure," she said, clearly not impressed.

"God Em, could you be any colder?" asked Nel with a groan. "...what," she shot at Ash who was looking directly at her in interest.

"Honestly, I thought that when you got your memory back you'd be just like before... but you've really changed, you know that?" Ash said truthfully.

"Oh?" said Nel, pretending to look puzzled. Ash folded his arms.

"Point made."

Nel blinked, her mouth twitching in the shadow of a grin. "Point taken," she said, hands up in surrender, "but what did you think would happen? I get my memory back from before and end up forgetting everything that's happened in between?"

"Makes sense," said Ash, ignoring Ember's smirk.

"Nel, are you going to talk or what? We don't have all day," she said. "Plus I never got to actually eat," she added, glaring at Ash.

"Relax, Em, it's been a while, you know?"

"Alright, so what did you want to talk to me about?" said Ash, though he was pretty confident he could guess...

"Vince Korinek."

Bingo. "What about him?"

"I want him dead, among other things." Ash leaned back against the wall again, tilting his head slightly.

"Can't imagine why you'd want to off someone with such great taste in suits," he said sarcastically.

"You know what he did to me, Ash," said Nel coolly. "I haven't forgotten those few weeks." At this Ember frowned.

"Wait, you've met him? Don't tell me you actually know him?" Ash's eyes quickly moved to Ember. Something told him that this girl was more than just some random.

"You could say we're on a first name basis. Relax, Miss Meres, he's not the kind of guy I'd party with, get it?"

"Don't worry, Em, he's not part of Korinek's group," said Nel calmly, placing her hand on Ember's arm, "that I'm certain of. Anyway, Ash, it sounds like you've since had a bit of a history with him," Ash's reaction was somewhere between a smirk and a sneer, "so I'm sure you wouldn't be opposed to helping me take him down."

"Putting you back behind the wheel? Forget it," Ash said, waiving his hand dismissively.

"Details, details. Think of all the good it will do the world with him safely underground."

"Are you sure that your memory is all back?" Ash asked. "Because I don't recall ever being _anything_ close to friends with you." Nel took a step forward, shaking her head.

"What does that have to do with anything? It's two people working together for a similar goal. That's all I'm asking."

"And all _I'm_ saying is that I can't see any reason for me to even consider it. You're wasting your breath, Nel." Nel bit her lip in frustration. Watching her think quickly, Ash could see that without a doubt, the outward shell of Hunter J was gone. Just the thought of having this conversation- _a_ conversation- with Hunter J was laughable. He knew that she was still just as dangerous. Her skill as a trainer would be as sharp as ever. But to see her with a friend, joking and teasing, and not trying to kill him for some reason or another...

"Ash!" Ash gave a start, realizing that he had spaced out. Nel shook her head. "Did you hear me? I said fine, I won't keep asking you about it. Just at least give me some information on the guy. Or are you unwilling to do even that?"

"No, I won't mind giving you information, but you should know better than anyone that nothing in this world is free," said Ash evenly.

"Oh, I never said anything about free information," said Nel. She began to smile in a way that made Ash uneasy. "It'll be a straight trade: my info for yours."

"Right," said Ash, "but somehow I find it hard to believe that a person who until recently didn't even know who she was has anything like that to offer." But Nel was shaking her head now.

"I know how it sounds, but it's true. We actually know a lot about your, how should I put this, _extended_ family. Isn't that right, Ember?"

"What?" said Ember, startled at being suddenly addressed.

"Sorry, my little joke," said Nel quickly. "Just wanted to see If you were listening."

"Stop playing around," snapped Ash. Was _everybody_ going to bring this up? "You just stepped onto considerably thin ice, Nel. What are you getting at?"

"Sorry, Ash. Not unless you agree," she said with a smile. Ash clenched his teeth together in frustration. "So, do we have a deal?" Ash could see that she wouldn't budge on this.

"Well, since today seems to be the "let's all talk about Ash's 'dysfunctional' family" day, why not?"

"Wonderful," said Nel, seemingly delighted. The way things were going now, Ash wondered if this hadn't been her original plan all along. She looked at Ember for a moment before saying, "There is a very large meeting of Aura Guardians from around the extended area happening tonight in this city."

Ember practically sputtered in shock, rounding on Nel at once. "Nel! That's-" Nel turned to meet her gaze. Ash didn't see what was behind Nel's eyes at that moment, but whatever it was made Ember stop talking...albeit angrily.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" asked Ash, more out of habit from dealing with the woman than anything. Nel smiled. She had known he would say that.

"You don't, do you?" she said softly. "The meeting is taking place around eight-thirty this evening. As for where..." she glanced at Ember, "well I'll just say that it's in the center of this city in a big, old building. Can't miss it. Really."

"Well it's sweet of you telling me all that. I mean it _is_ good information to someone like me, but I still don't see how this even remotely has to do with what you agreed to tell me about," Ash said in a bored voice.

"Well then, what if I told you that your father is going to be at that meeting," Nel said, her voice still maintaining that soft quality. Ash's brain skipped for a moment, though his outward appearance didn't change at all. He had expected something ridiculous like that. Ember frowned.

"Ahh," said Ash slowly with a smile, "of _course_ he is."

"I know you don't believe me," said Nel, her dangerous looking smile in place, "but it looks like you're just going to have to trust me on that one. Oh and before I go," Nel bowed her head slightly at Ash, eyes closed, making Ash blink in complete confusion. "I'll pay you back properly for that time at a later date." Satisfied, she turned away from him. "Come on Em, time to go."

Ember's eyes moved between Nel and Ash for more than a few moments before she let out a short breath and followed Nel. Stopping in front of Ash she said shortly, "Don't come."Ash looked at her hard.

"Why?"

"Just don't."

XxxxX

Ash watched them go quietly thinking over everything that had just been said. Could he believe Nel? For what it was worth, her tip looked legitimate; not to mention Ember's extremely dark parting words, though he suspected that was just a bluff. No matter how you put it, something was definitely up.

"You can come out now," Ash said a minute after Nel and Ember had left the alleyway. They approached him slowly, ears still full of what they had just heard.

"Ash," said Cynthia slowly, "was that..." she didn't finish her sentence.

"Yeah," said Ash, finally turning to them, "It was her."

"What are you going to do?" asked Gary. He handed Pikachu over to Ash, who scratched the Pokemon's head to reassure him. "You going to go?"

"Don't really have much of a choice now do I?" Ash laughed bitterly. This day was just one wreck after another. One part of him just wanted to go home and be done with it. Miranda's eyes were fixed on his own. In them he saw worry. In spite of his mental turmoil, he felt slightly better. That a girl as good natured as Miranda could lose everything—her home, her family, her culture, her life—in the worst possible way, and then still genuinely worry about another soul in the world, let alone him...

"Don't worry about me, Miranda," Ash said with the biggest smile he could muster, "I'm alright." Miranda shook her head slightly, her frown giving way to the barest of smiles. Without thinking, Cynthia put a hand on Miranda's back for comfort. Miranda glanced at Cynthia but made no effort to shake off the hand.

"I know what building that woman was talking about," she said forcefully, as if to prove she wasn't weak. "A big, old building in the center of the city could only mean that giant mansion at the exact center of the city."

"There's a mansion at the center of the city?" asked Ash, interested.

Miranda nodded. "Yup. Well, maybe not the _exact _center, but I'm sure it's close. I mean, the city was built around that mansion to begin with. It's the oldest building in the entire city!"

"Not to sound rude, but how do you know all this?" asked Cynthia curiously.

"Tour books and living here for a month before everyone came," Miranda answered simply.

"Well, that's handy. Thanks, Miranda," said Ash brightly. Miranda smiled happily. "Anyway," Ash continued, "I'm going to head out now. I know I've still got plenty of time but there's some stuff I need to take care of first-"

"Wait!" Miranda had moved forward to grab Ash's arm before he could vanish. Everyone looked at Miranda eyebrows raised. She blushed scarlet and muttered, "I umm, I have more I can tell you about the mansion. If you want to hear it..." her voice died in embarrassment at her outburst. Gary smirked and clapped Ash on the back.

"Good luck, Ashey-boy. Let me know if anything happens," he said and walked off back into the plaza. Ash nodded to him then looked at the remaining two. Suddenly he realized who he was alone with. Miranda was silent, her head down, still embarrassed and still clutching to his arm. Cynthia was looking at Miranda then at Ash, then back. When she noticed Ash's gaze she could only hold his eyes for a second before she looked away.

Feeling annoyed and somewhat lonely, Cynthia walked past Ash heading for the plaza behind him, where sounds of exuberant life were clear, if faint. He didn't move. He was afraid of disturbing Miranda more than she already was.

"I'm...sorry," Cynthia said quietly, knowing that Miranda's incredible hearing would pick it up anyway. "You've been through so much today, you're still going through more, but I can't do anything to help you...don't know about anything that can help you."

"Cynthia, I-"

"Don't. It's just frustrating," she said. "Good luck." And she walked out into the throng.

"It is frustrating," said Miranda, now leaning into Ash. "It really is."

XxxxX

_**Later that evening**_

Ember stared at the piece of paper in front of her without really seeing it. She was sitting on the floor of her room, back against a large Pokemon doll for comfort, file folders scattered around her. With an irritated sigh, Ember added the paper in her hands to the mess below and sunk herself into the soft doll. The earlier encounter with Ash Ketchum was firmly lodged in her head and she had no idea why. Well, not no idea...

Ketchum... where did she know that name from? The name was vaguely familiar, but as to why completely eluded her. It was almost as if the answer was constantly in the corner of her vision but gone whenever she turned her head. Regardless, the whole situation was baffling. She knew for a fact that no member of the Guard had that name—she often worked with the personnel officer—so how could Nel have thought that Ash's father would be here? After all, Nel had only learned of the Guard's existence recently. Of course, Ember didn't dismiss the possibility that Nel had lied to Ash. It was clear that the two had unpleasant history with each other. But if Nel _did_ lie then, it still wouldn't explain why she had told Ash about the meeting to begin with.

"God this is so frustrating!" Ember leaned forward, dragging the doll up and over her shoulder to sail across the room. It thumped into the dresser by the window, causing the picture frame on its top to teeter precariously. Moving swiftly, Ember dove on top of the doll, catching the picture as it fell. She sighed in relief, shifting to her knees to get up.

"Nice catch."

Ember nearly dropped the picture frame before grabbing it tightly and glaring at the person standing in her doorway.

"I didn't know knocking was out of style," Ember shot at her guest. Long locks of hair shook slightly as the woman at the door chuckled.

"You know, I've never actually seen you dive for something before. Or be startled for that matter."

"Oh shut up, Sonia," Ember said, feeling an embarrassed heat rising in her face. The woman simply laughed more. Ember couldn't help but crack a smile. Though nearly twice her age, Sonia was one of Ember's longest friends. She was among the group of people who had known her ever since she and her father came to live with the Guard nearly nineteen years ago. "Anyway, what's up? It's not time for the meeting yet, right?"

"No no, we've still got a little under an hour," said Sonia, eying her watch. She took a seat at the desk on the other side of the window, careful not to step on the various reports crowding the floor. As Ember replaced the picture frame on the dresser Sonia said, "I'm surprised you still have that thing."

"Pictures are memories... doesn't seem right to get rid of a memory," Ember mused. "Sorry about the mess, by the way. I've been working."

"Sure you have," Sonia said sarcastically. "Oh come on, don't give me that look. I'm not going to tell you off or anything." Ember moved to her bed and sat on its edge. Grabbing a pillow and hugging it she replied,

"You know, last time I checked I was your superior more than three times over."

"Details, girl, details," said Sonia, waving Ember's words away. That was when Ember noticed a dark folder next to Sonia on the desk. Seeing where her eyes were, Sonia said, "I found what you were looking for. Wait," she added as Ember made to get up. Something in Sonia's voice made her freeze; she was serious. "This isn't something I would normally do. I've known you your whole life and there's only one reason I'm letting you see this. That is... something you'll understand when you read this." Her finger tapped the folder. Ember suddenly felt apprehensive.

Sonia stood up. She looked into Ember's eyes for a long moment. "I'll be outside if you need me." She left.

Ember quickly moved to the desk, flipping the folder open without hesitation. Instantly, she understood why Sonia had let her see this.

"This isn't right."

It couldn't be right. Ember knew that the information she was reading was true, but it couldn't be. She just didn't believe it. It must be a coincidence. Ember left the desk to search the floor. Almost at once she found the file she was looking for: Ash Ketchum's profile, courtesy of the Pokemon League trainer database. Laying it next to the other file on the desk, Ember read, eyes moving from one to the other rapidly. Eventually they slowed and stopped. She stood up, turning to the door just as Sonia rushed in.

"Sonia-"

"Ember," she said, overriding the girl, "I know it's a bad time, but I just got word; We have an intruder in the base!"

"What?" Ember half shouted. The intruder could not have had worse timing.

"Look, we'll talk later but I have to get down there now," Sonia continued, already moving to the door. Catching herself as she was leaving she said quickly, "Get dressed and come down as well, I doubt he'll evade us for long but if I'm wrong we could use your help." She left, one hand moving to the small headset hidden under her locks. "I'm in the East Wing Tower, heading down to your position now. ETA five minutes. I want all of Central sealed off..."

Sonia's voice faded as she rushed out of Ember's rooms. An intruder and at this time...could it be him? Ember glanced at herself in the full length mirror by the dresser; she was in a shirt and shorts. No good. Closing the door, Ember quickly stripped to her underwear and opened her closet. She grabbed the uniform hanging in it and began dressing, her mind entirely elsewhere. Finished dressing, Ember grabbed a pokeball from her side table at random and clipped it to her belt. As she left, her eyes moved once more to the dark folder, still open on her desk; on the name adorning the top of the page.

Gabriel Meres

XxxxX

**30 Minutes Earlier**

Ash stood in the shadow of an old boutique, quietly watching the occasional passerby. His main focus however was the incredibly large mansion directly across from his position. It easily took up most of his view, despite being quite a ways in from the road. Only the front of the mansion was entirely exposed to the road. The other sides were mostly covered by a thick, miniature forest, hiding all but the tallest sections of the mansion. A tall stone wall topped with a short metal fence surrounded the entire property. The path leading from the front gate to the mansion was lined with old lamp posts and low hedges that did a good job of obscuring any type of view from the gate.

Before he had left Miranda earlier that day, she told him the few other details she knew of the mansion. The most important by far was that the family that owned the mansion kept it open, within limits, to the public at large. People came to the mansion and entered it like it was a decent sized museum, looked around at the historic architecture of the building and its interior design, then left feeling slightly bemused at its grandeur. To Ash's surprise, the mansion, called The Mansion of the Elements or simply just Element Mansion, was a huge tourist attraction. Who would have thought that people liked boring themselves with the insides of dusty old buildings.

A faint chime sounded somewhere in the boutique. Ash looked down at his watch. It was 7:30. If Nel was to be believed, he had an hour until the meeting started; and considering what he had observed in the past hours, there was no denying that something was going on. Ash watched as seemingly random visitors to the mansion show signs of being Aura Guardians. There were some who were clearly using their aura, while some appeared to have no aura at all. Not only did Nel seem to have been telling the truth, but the way that so many Aura Guardians were behaving either meant that the meeting wasn't a secret at all and he was just completely out of the loop, or they thought that they were safe from detection here.

"Well," Ash muttered to himself, "either way I'm going so it's not really that important at the moment."

But how should he get in? It was this that had occupied his mind for most of the time he was standing there, watching the people pass. There were numerous ways to sneak in the mansion, but with what he was looking for there were really only two main ways of going about it. Either sneak in or just walk in.

Sneaking in required a bit more care than just walking in of course. He would probably scale the wall on one of the sides or in the back where there was cover by trees then make his way to the rear entrance. If it wasn't locked he'd sneak in. If it was, well then he would probably do something less subtle. Like climbing up the walls or something crazy. Unfortunately there was a problem with sneaking in. Well, more than one problem, but one underlying huge problem. Just by sneaking in he's already made himself an enemy to every person in that building. Definitely not the safest thing to do.

Of course, simply walking in, chest held out and white teeth shining, really didn't do him that much good either. While it definitely didn't make him out to be a sneak by breaking in, realistically there was no way for him to remain under the radar. If the meeting is as big as it looks from all these people showing up then there must be someone checking off the guest list. Showing up without an invitation might earn him a little more than just a, "Go away." Plus, just walking into enemy territory and saying, "Hi!" Who does that?

Ash was only really unable to figure out which form of entry to go by because of what he wanted to do in the mansion when he got there. The number one objective was simply to see if his father actually was at the meeting, however 'simple' that could be called. However, considering his position among Aura Guardians, to have not heard of or been told of this meeting was a serious problem. He needed to find out why he hadn't been invited and what the meeting was about. Lucky for him that those two objectives completely clash in the best ways to get them done. Obviously breaking in wouldn't help him if he wanted to talk to them without being imprisoned, and walking in the front door won't exactly give him the privacy he would need to search for someone in whatever ways he could.

All this was racing through his mind non stop while he 'relaxed' at the boutique.

"_This is silly,"_ said Gardevoir, appearing from nowhere at Ash's side.

"What is?" said Ash automatically.

"_All this thought of how to do what you want,"_ Gardevoir hovered barely above the ground like she normally did when relaxing. Ash was always impressed at how straightforward Gardevoir could be despite being so intelligent. Apparently not all intelligent things are complex in nature.

"So what do you suggest I do?" asked Ash, interested in what she would say.

"_Stop wasting your time and go in the front like you were planning to from the very beginning,"_ Gardevoir said flatly. Ash grinned.

"Good idea," Ash said, stretching a bit before barging in. "I like the way you think, Gardevoir. I guess I'm just a little bit nervous about all this. I mean it's unlikely to say the least, but for all I know I might actually meet the other half of my family."

"_Then I will soothe your nerves,"_ she replied moving to his side. Gardevoir placed a hand on either side of his head and used Calm Mind, purposely transmitting it through her trainer as well as herself. Ash sighed heavily. Gardevoir had only ever done that for him once before, she said that it wasn't safe if done frequently, but he truly appreciated it now. It was as if his mind had become a still lake. He wondered what she felt when she used the move.

"Alright Gardevoir, let's do this."

Not five minutes later...

"Dammit, I knew this was a bad idea!" Ash berated himself. He ducked into a side room and hid behind a sofa. The sentries that had been chasing him ran straight past the room he was hiding in. Ash lay his head on the floor, grateful for the rest, even if only for a moment. When he had entered the building a few minutes ago, several things crossed his mind. The first was WOW. The mansion was a wealth of burnished wood, silver and gold inlays, landscape paintings, elaborate rugs, small stone statues of Pokemon, spiral staircases... it went on and on and on. And that was only a small portion of the first floor.

It was getting near the time that the mansion would be closing to the public, so there were less people in the building than earlier. Ash knew his only chance was to make his way deeper into the mansion so he tailed the first Aura Guardian he could make out. They walked in silence for a while before coming to a hall barred by two guards. The man spoke to them briefly then was admitted. Ash approached confidently.

"Hey, I'm here for the meeting, is this the right way?" Ash asked cheerfully. The guards looked at Ash, then traded looks themselves before shrugging and parting to let him through. "Thanks!" Ash said before hurrying along after the other guy. He caught the beginning of one of the guards saying,

"Well, I guess it's good they're not all..."

Ash looked up and found himself face to face with two security cameras, one on each side of the hall.

"Crap."

"Hey, you! Stop right there!" Ash looked back to see the two guards making a beeline for him. Something glinted near the ear of one of the guards. Ahh, Ash thought, radio headsets. I didn't even notice them before. He broke into a run down the hall, turning right the first chance he got. The next four minutes became progressively worse as sentries began hounding him. It was pretty much impossible to avoid the cameras _and_ people. Eventually he managed to make it into the room he was currently in. It was only a matter of time before they found him here though.

"Hey, what are you doing on the floor?"

The voice made him jump and spin over. A young woman was standing over his head. Had she been in the room the whole time? She stood there, looking down at Ash silently. Wondering why she wasn't doing anything, he realized she must be waiting for him to answer her question.

"Oh," he said awkwardly, "I guess I'm just tired and I really just wanted to lay down...immediately."

"Well then why not lay down on a couch?" asked the woman reasonably. "Wouldn't that be much more comfortable?" He stood up, making the woman jump back slightly.

"You know," he said, "I'm feeling pretty good. I think I'll go for a run now. See ya!" He ran off out of the room, determined to put a fair bit of distance between himself and the odd woman. Turning a corner, Ash ran straight into a wall. Or at least, it felt like a wall. He could see clear through it. Must be glass, he thought rubbing his head. No matter how far he went Ash kept hitting those strange glass walls. He was already completely lost as it was. Now the glass walls seemed to just be there to drive him insane. Praying he wouldn't bump into glass for the tenth time Ash turned a corner and saw a bright light at the end of this hall. That meant there was a big room ahead. He put his hand out in front of him to make sure there was no glass then moved quickly to the end of the hall.

The moment Ash emerged into the large circular room, hands grabbed him. Two his right arm and two his left. Ash quickly moved his hands to the back of his belt, twisting the small metal rod that was housed there. The rubber capped metal shot out of the ends, extending into a full staff and catching his two attackers in the guts and throwing them back. They clutched their stomachs in pain. Ash sheathed the staff then moved into the middle of the room. He knew it would come to this eventually. The glass walls must have been to herd him to this room where he could be ambushed. As if they heard his thoughts, over a dozen sentries emerged from various doors around the room. All of them had pokeballs on them.

"Heh, what do you think Lucario? Can I take them all on myself or will you have to step in to help?" said Ash to a pokeball on his waist. No response. "No seriously I'm going to need help, Lucario. They're all Aura Guardians to some extent, right? Lucario? Luca, buddy? Well this sucks."

"Intruder, identify yourself and surrender," said one of the sentries, stepping forward.

"My name is Ash. I want to speak so someone in charge. Trust me this is just a big misunderstanding," he said, facing the man who spoke.

"You have no right to demand anything here."

"Actually, your guys let me in," said Ash, unable to resist. "I'm serious, just ask them."

"Sentries, capture him," said the sentry. Looking at Ash he said, "You're about to find out exactly why no one is ever dumb enough to break into this place."

XxxxX

Ember raced along the halls of the mansion as quickly as she could. She could feel the fight as clearly as if it were happening right next to her. She figured Sonia must already be there. Ember knew that Ash wasn't a pushover, but from what she had seen of his power he was nothing special. Sonia on the other hand was a Sentinel. In other words she captained all the guards and sentries, in power and rank. Sonia was a wonderful person, but on the battlefield she could be less than forgiving, especially when her people are hurt or at risk.

"Dammit Ash Ketchum, you'd better be okay... there's things I need to ask you!"

She was close now, only a few rooms away. Making it to the final corridor Ember pulled up short. The passage was littered with people, all moving to to main room to see what was going on. They were at one of the second floor entrances to the room. Ember pushed past people as she emerged into the room, her vision opening up to the wild scene below.

All around the edges of the room, Ember could see kneeling or flat out unconscious sentries. It looked as if their ambush didn't go exactly as planned. Additionally, there were only a few Pokemon that were still with their trainers; likely most of them had been knocked out and recalled. In the center of the room Sonia and Ash were fighting. From her viewpoint high up, it almost looked like they were dancing. Of course, one look at Sonia's face said that wasn't the case. She was enraged. Ash on the other hand had an expression that looked like he was in over his head.

Movement to the side at her own level caught Ember's eye. Looking up she saw that two Pokemon were battling fiercely on the other side of the second floor platform. They broke apart for a moment. Ember instantly recognized the clipped ear of Sonia's Lucario. He was fighting a Zangoose which must belong to Ash. Was Ash stupid, wondered Ember, now moving to the stairs at the back of the room. That Zangoose has a complete type disadvantage. The Pokemon was looking weary as it is; she figured he wouldn't last much longer.

Ash on the other hand seemed to be managing himself well enough, despite how things looked...or not. Ember darted to the railing of the stairs and looked over it. Ash had just been thrown against the wall from more than ten feet away.

"Sonia, aren't those things a little unnecessary?" Ember shouted in alarm, staring at the gauntlets she was wearing. They were basically designed to enhance the force she could put into something. Basically super pushing gloves, or punching in this case. Whether Sonia couldn't hear her or just simply chose to ignore her, Ember couldn't tell. Ash was getting to his feet, clearly shaken from hitting the wall. Ember could see damage to the wall as well.

"Are you insane?" Ash shouted, leaning back against the wall for support. "What if I had hit the wall head first? That could have killed me!" Sonia tilted her head to the side, cracking her neck slightly.

"It's possible," she said.

"Is this how you treat guests?" Ash said, now leaning against the wall he just hit. Ember frowned. For someone who had just slammed into a wall, he looked perfectly fine. What was his body made of?

"If you wanted to be treated kindly then you should have asked for someone at the front door, not beat up my men!" Sonia snapped. "Stop resisting and give up or I'll drag your head through the floor." Ash shuddered. Something told him she wasn't joking with him. Why did he have to run into someone with such anger problems so early on? Looking up randomly, his eyes met Ember's. He blinked, staring. Even Sonia looked after a moment.

"Ember! Hey!" said Ash happily. "Help me out here, would ya?"

"Ember, you know him?" asked Sonia surprised. Ember sighed, rubbing her head. She hadn't seen him for more than a few seconds and he was already giving her a headache. She couldn't believe that she had been worried about him for even a second. She looked straight at Ash with a blank stare.

"I told you not to come."

"You know I couldn't do that," he replied.

"Yeah, I guess I do," she muttered. What a day. "Sonia, stand down. Send for medics for them all." Sonia hesitated for a moment, eyes fixed on Ash, then closed them and nodded. Her posture relaxed and her fists unclenched.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Ash watched in surprise as the clearly older woman, and in his case scarier, immediately put a hand to her ear and said, "I need a mixed team of medics to the main room in Central, now." She looked back at Ash then called, "Rush!" Her lucario jumped down to land at her side. He was only somewhat beaten up. Zangoose followed the Pokemon down and moved to Ash's side. His Pokemon was in much worse condition.

"Jeez you're beat up. Did you have a good fight?" he asked Zangoose. Zangoose said nothing, only smiling in a way that Ash knew all too well. "Sonia, was it?" The woman looked at him. "Or is it Commander Sonia? Well either way, Zangoose here says he had a good fight. I hope you'll grant us the honor of a rematch sometime." Sonia blinked, taken aback. After a moment she nodded. The medics had shown up. Clearly unaware of what exactly had just happened, one of the Pokemon medics went straight for Zangoose and Rush. As Ash thanked the medic Sonia pulled Ember aside.

"Alright, what the hell is going on? Who is that?" she whispered, jerking her head at Ash. All around them there was movement and sound from the medics helping the people and Pokemon. Ember sighed and looked at the high ceiling which was painted to look like the sky.

"Ash Ketchum," she said softly. Her eyes moved to meet Sonia's, which had gone wide at the name. Ember smiled weakly.

"My brother."


	12. Father and Son

"Ash Ketchum."

"Born in Pallet Town, Kanto; began training Pokemon at 10 years old, competed in numerous regional competitions; never placed in first though. Connections with...damn, what a list. I see you've made your way around haven't you." Sonia looked up from her paper, eyebrows raised. Ash mimicked her, shrugging. Shaking her head she continued, "No activity until recently. You've been employed as a Battle Frontier Brain and are a finalist in this Inter-regional Pokemon Tournament here on this island." Sonia dropped the file and leaned against the table. Ash crossed his arms as best he could, being handcuffed. "Well, it explains the strength of your Pokemon, to be able to stand up to Rush for so long."

"Don't you think that's a bit arrogant of you to think that you're automatically world class?" asked Ash, wryly. Sonia sat at one of the two chairs across from his own. The other was empty, as was the entire room minus a single guard at the door she had kept with her for security reasons. Ember was currently getting info on the Pokemon that had been taken from Ash after cuffing him. She would be back momentarily.

Sonia sighed. "I guess it did come off that way. I was just saying you're Zangoose was strong."

"I'm just pulling your leg, though I could say the same about your Lucario," Ash said, his gaze still wandering around the room in vague interest. "You must have been training for a long time."

Sonia was silent. She looked back at the file in front of her. Though Ember claimed that this man was her brother, his file said otherwise. There was no record of a father or any siblings, just his mother. Could Ember have been mistaken? But Sonia herself had been the one to find the name Ketchum buried in the personnel files that Ember asked her to go through. The connection was there, so why not here, in a completely non-classified profile. The Guardian's information network was second to none.

"Let's not talk about me, Ash Ketchum. Anyway, while we're still waiting for your- for Ember, tell me something." Sonia said with a small smile. She leaned in. "Why are you here?"

Could it be he didn't know?

"Apart from meeting wonderful people like yourself?" Sonia smirked. "Well two reasons really," he said, leaning back in his chair. He looked quite comfortable for someone who was being interrogated. Sonia could tell that there was much he was hiding. Would he even tell her the truth?

"And those are?"

"Well the first is that I'm looking for my father." Sonia blinked.

"Looking for your father?" she repeated, surprised. Ember's earlier request and her recent findings were starting to come together in her mind. "There's no Ketchums here I assure you."

"Yeah, well I don't think it would be odd for him to have a different name. Coward..." he added in a mutter.

"I see," Sonia said softly. "Then if he is here, tell me what he looks like. Maybe I know him." But Ash was shaking his head.

"That's awfully nice of you considering I'm your captive, but I actually don't know what the guy looks like so..." Ash shrugged unconcernedly. There was a sound at the door. They both looked to see Ember entering. She patted the guard on the shoulder who nodded, walking out of the room and closing the door behind himself.

"I assume my Pokemon are being safely kept?" Ash said immediately. Ember took the empty seat.

"Of course," she replied. To Sonia she said, "The four Pokemon he had with him are the Zangoose, a Gardevoir, a Ninetales," she glanced at Ash, "and a Lucario."

"You mean he's an Aura Guardian?" Sonia asked. Ember nodded.

"I'm sorry, is that a bad thing? I actually thought it might help me out here," Ash said.

"No, that's not bad, I'm just kinda surprised," said Sonia. "You don't really fight like any Aura Guardian I know. You didn't even use your Lucario when I used mine. It's pretty much standard for a lot of people around here."

"You know, I actually figured that as well, but a lot of your guards didn't use them at all," as said curiously.

"That's because most of the people currently under Sonia's command haven't actually become official Aura Guardians yet," said Ember. Ash moved his eyes to her. "But that's not important and we don't have forever to talk here." Ember sighed taking a deep breath. "Look Ash, I know why you're here. You're looking for your father." Ash said nothing, but nodded. "I can actually help you, but I need to know something first."

"What?" said Ash, frowning now.

"What will you do when you meet him?"

"Kill him." Ember opened her mouth in alarm, but Ash interrupted her, looking at his hands. "At least, that's what I would have said before. But now, I guess I just want to see what became of the man who left my mother before I was even born. Though, to be honest, I really don't know what I'll do when I actually come face to face with him. I'm still trying to figure that out. I don't even know if he's really here after all." The women were speechless. Ash looked up at them. "What would you do?"

Sonia recovered first. "I don't know Ash; and I'm sorry to seem insensitive about this, but we never finished what we were talking about before Ember showed up." It was strange, but Sonia actually kind of liked Ash. For someone who had just torn through her subordinates and broke into her facility, he still seemed like a good guy. Still, she had a job to do.

"What else do you want to know from me?" Ash asked. He was completely normal, as if he hadn't just talked about such a sad thing.

"Well for one, since you're an Aura Guardian, what's your rank?" she said shortly.

"Rank?" he said confused.

"As an Aura Guardian," Ember said with a frown. "How can you not... are you really an Aura Guardian?"

"I didn't exactly become an Aura Guardian in the most traditional methods. It was... somewhat sudden." Ash closed his eyes and shook his head. "My rank isn't important. What's your rank?"

"Well if you don't understand the ranks then I guess this won't mean anything to you, but technically I'm a Sentinel and Ember's a Reader," Sonia said, motioning to her friend. "But I guess to make it easy, if you think of Aura Guardians as a military then I'm like a high ranked captain and Ember's something like special ops."

"And you have to listen to her?" asked Ash, still finding it hard to believe.

"Pretty much," said Sonia, shrugging.

"Pretty much?" Ember repeated dangerously.

"Yeah pretty much," Sonia said with a grin. Ember's growl turned into a smile as well.

"Great, we're all happy here," said Ash cheerfully, "so how about taking these off me." Ash waved his hands in front of them.

"Nice try, but I don't think so. We're not done, remember?" said Sonia. Ember looked confused.

"What do you mean? I thought it was just about his father," she said.

"He said he has two reasons to be here. We need to hear the other," said Sonia, crossing her arms.

"Ah, I did say that didn't I," mused Ash. If anything, their captive was looking more than slightly annoyed now. He kep his voice level however. "I'm interested in this meeting I've heard about. I know you won't believe me, but if it's anything remotely important then I really should be at that meeting. I belong there."

"Ash, that meeting is something that only the leaders and high ranking officers of Guardian sections throughout the regions are invited to." said Ember standing up. "It's not like everyone important is there but it's close. Nel had no right to say anything about it, and I'm going to knock her senseless when I find her."

"You called?"

The door opened a second time to reveal none other than the mastermind behind the whole situation.

"I've got a message for you all," said Nel, apparently immune to glare Ember was giving her. "Hey Ash, glad you could come." Ash smirked, half at what she said and half at the reactions Ember and Sonia were wearing.

"Yeah, thanks for the invite."

"What's so important that you couldn't say it over the headset?" Sonia asked tapping her own small earpiece.

"Commander Meres wanted me to let you know that Ash has been cleared for the meeting," she said shortly.

"What?" chorused the three. Ember and Sonia were just as surprised as Ash was.

"Come on, we're to head back together," continued Nel, turning her back to the room. "He wants us there a little early."

XxxxX

Ash was completely thrown by what was going on. He walked steadily behind Nel, still cuffed and flanked by both Sonia and Ember. Despite being an intruder and having attacked people, he was still getting everything he wanted. Ash sighed, wondering how many years of luck he must have used up for this to happen. Probably all of them...

"Sonia," said Ember suddenly, making Ash jump, "you didn't by chance...make a report to the Commander after we split up, did you?" Sonia nodded.

"Of course I did. How often do people break into this place?" Sonia said with a shrug. "Anyway, you know it's standard procedure. I had to do it."

"Yeah, I know," said Ember, "I was just wondering." Ash blinked. Was it just him, or did Ember look worried?

"So this commander of yours, is Commander the name of his rank?" Ash asked after another long silence of walking. Something was nagging at him in the back of his mind but he couldn't place it.

"No, that's just what we call him," said Sonia.

"His rank is Knight," finished Ember.

"Well, that's pretty cool," Ash said, for lack of something else to say. Sonia let out a snort of laughter.

"Ah, I'm sorry," she said quickly covering her mouth. "You just have no idea do you."

XxxxX

"Ah, there you all are. Perfect timing. Hi, Sonia."

The four had just arrived at the meeting room. Ash looked around, impressed. The room was very large. Easily as big as the room he battled Sonia in earlier. It was clearly a meeting room on a grand scale. About then feet in, the floor gave way to a full circle of tiered seating, like a lecture hall in a large school. In the center of the room was a round table with a pitch black top; a screen of some sort. There was a component hanging above the table as well. Overall, the room bore a striking resemblence to another meeting room he had been in before, but his memory failed him at this particular moment. There were many people already in the room, sitting in chairs and standing in small groups, talking with each other so that the room was permeated by a low hum. At the center of the room stood a few people, shuffling papers and preparing for the meeting, and one other person who could be none other than the Commander. He had an immense presence. Almost as if he wore his authority like a cloak. The person who had just spoken was standing beside the door.

"Oh, hey Kyle," said Sonia, barely giving the guy a glance. Ember gave the crestfallen Kyle a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and followed Sonia toward the Commander.

They all stopped in front of the head table, with the exception of Nel who continued around the side of the table and too a seat somewhat off to the side, watching what would happen. Sonia saluted.

"Sonia Vallee reporting, Sir. I brought Ash Ketchum like you requested."

"Ah, thanks, Sonia," said the Commander without looking up from the reports on the table. Sonia sighed softly in exasperation.

"Commander Meres, please observe protocol; at least in front of a prisoner," came a small voice from out of view. The Commander suddenly straightened up looking guilty.

"Hehe, sorry about that," Ash thought the guy seemed pretty cheerful. "So you're Ash Ketchum, eh? Ouch!" He rubbed his back. A girl no taller than Ash's chest stepped out from behind the Commander looking annoyed.

"You still haven't observed protocol, Commander Meres," said the girl in that same small voice from before. The Commander looked down at her for a moment then saluted Sonia grudgingly.

"The prisoner has been received. Thank you, Sentinel," he said in a monotone. The girl made to open her mouth again but the Commander put a hand on her head, nearly covering her whole head, and ruffled her hair. "Thank you, Vice-Commander," he said grinning. The girl pushed the hand off and tried to fix her now hopelessly disheveled hair.

"It's time for the meeting, Commander," said the girl, moving away so she was out of his reach. "Please do not delay."

"Right, right. This will have to wait until later," he said, shooting the girl a glare. "Grab an extra seat for the kid and let's get this thing started then."

As they sat down, Ash in an extra chair between Ember and Sonia, Ash took the moment to scan the faces in the room. The men and women sitting around him were clearly from various areas in the regions. Though most wore roughly the same thing, there were signs that stood them apart from each other. Another thing that struck Ash was the age range of the people there. Though none were as young as the Vice-Commander, a mystery herself, there were some who looked to be a little older than himself and even more near the end of their years. The majority however were in between.

As everyone settled into a rough semicircle, filling the few tiers of the room, the Commander nodded and the lights dimmed, leaving only a few places easily visible.

"Well then," he began, looking around, "for those of you who are new here, welcome to Guardian HQ. Obviously to everyone else, welcome back. It's not like we really have these get-togethers often, but it's nice when we do. Interaction between various branches of the organization does wonders for cooperation and teamwork." Sensing movement, Ash looked from Ember to Sonia who were both rolling their eyes.

"God, he always opens these meetings like that," muttered Sonia. Ember just shook her head. The Commander ignored them.

"Unfortunately, we have really big problems this time," continued the Commander, his voice becoming harder. Everyone in the room stiffened perceptibly. Clearly the Commander's words were not taken lightly. "Holly, if you would." The small girl from before pressed a few buttons on a computer screen and the table in the middle of the room lit up. An image blinked into existence above it, soft trails of light tracing from the top of the dais to the bottom of the man now glaring ahead as he slowly revolved in place. Ash recognized him instantly.

"Vince Korinek," said Holly, speaking strongly for her appearance and surprising Ash. "As the world knows, he heads J's Hunters as her second in command. As _we_ know, he actually leads the hunters in an organization called the Hunter Corps. According to intelligence, Hunter J hasn't been a part of the group since when Korinek came into power over four years ago. At least now we know why..."

The last bit was muttered, but Ash could hear it just as easily as he could hear the smirk on Nel's face just then.

"In any case," the Commander continued, taking over and standing up, "recent intel from the last few months has shown us that Vince Korinek has a much different aim than just stealing Pokemon and selling them. In fact, I doubt that hunting Pokemon was _ever_ a main goal." Ash frowned. What did the Guardians actually know about Korinek's plan? Ash knew better than most how tight the guy's security was.

"As far as what Korinek is planning, well Nel?"

Nel stood up and all eyes moved to her. She smiled and said, "Hello everyone, I'm Nel. You all know me as Hunter J."

That got the response she wanted. Ash looked around at the commotion and was not disappointed. Looking at Nel, Ash could see she was really enjoying the atmosphere she created. He couldn't help smirk himself. Almost as if she knew he was looking at her, Nel caught his eyes and to his utter astonishment, winked at him.

"Unbelievable..." he muttered, fixing his eyes on the table in front of him. The woman winked at him. What was this world coming to?

After the group settled down Nel continued, "Well now that you had some exercise I'll tell you the situation. For various reasons I ended up running into him," Nel took the moment to jerk her thumb at the Commander, "and Korinek really pisses me off so I decided to help you all out. But for the record I go by Nel now. Please don't call me J. Seriously."

"Neliell, kindly provide your information," said Holly bluntly, making the Commander chuckle. He nodded at Nel who decided to let that one slide.

"Of course, mini Vice-Commander," she replied. Alright, maybe she wouldn't let it go. "Vince Korinek is... a very interesting person. He is very intelligent, not to mention driven; it's one of the reasons I hired him. Before he was ever a criminal, he was a scientist, and a damn good one. He did his job extremely well. What he also did extremely well was hide things. As far as I know, Korinek originally joined my group hoping to get access to obscure information regarding rare Pokemon and where they come from; certainly not anything that I ever looked into for sure. Using the resources of my group he was able to get everything he wanted. Then he changed." Nel's face darkened.

"I was curious about where much of his effort had been going so I followed him to a section of the base that wasn't in much use. What I found there was more than I prepared for." She paused as if considering whether or not to say the next part. Coming to a decision she said, "Believe it or not he basically caught me, tied me up and told me his scheme. It sounds strange, but Korinek is much more open to gaining potential allies in his plans than getting rid of people. Of course I didn't want anything to do with it so he got rid of me. Hehe, if only he know what I was doing right now..."

"So what's he planning," said one of the men at the tables, impatiently.

"Korinek wants to evolve humans. He wants to force a change in human DNA to make them "in tune" with Pokemon." Nel's words were met with complete silence.

"...In tune, you say?" said a woman a few seats from Ash. She sounded unnerved. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I'm not really sure, to be honest. When he told me, he said that it would allow the human and the Pokemon to essentially become 'one'. Thoughts, emotions... but most importantly: enormous power for the Pokemon, and complete control for the human. Well, so he says."

"Korinek is attempting to completely rewrite the relationship between humans and Pokemon," said the Commander, "no doubt for something less than honorable. For whatever reason he's being driven to do this, we cannot let him destroy the natural balance of life in our world."

"It's odd to think about, but from Korinek's point of view he's doing the right thing," said Nel, leaning on her chair. "He actually thinks that this evolution is for the better of humans."

"But isn't something like that impossible?" Everyone looked at the speaker: poor Kyle. "I mean, seriously at the end of the day isn't it all just crap? Doesn't it sound like lunacy to you all?"

"Unfortunately, Kyle," said the Commander, "Korinek has actually already succeeded... to a degree."

Again the group fell into soft muttering and worry, however this time Ash was among them. Was he serious? Korinek's experiments were actually successful? This was complete news to him. It took a lot of effort to stay calm and not shout out as well.

"What do you mean, Commander?" The Commander sat down heavily and tapped on the computer screen, changing the projection. A few faces flickered in and out of view.

"According to very recent intelligence, Korinek was actually successful at altering the subjects' genetic code. He was able to cause them to become "in tune" with the test Pokemon, whatever they were." The faces vanished. "However, it was only a small success in the grand scheme of things. The reaction only lasted for a short time before the Pokemon rejected it severely damaging both humans and Pokemon. Right now Korinek's main plan is likely to run tests on what he can and adjust his methods accordingly. This is our current issue, but I will bring it back up towards the end of the meeting."

"Before we discuss our course of action there is just one more thing," continued the Commander. "During the raid we performed on one of Korinek's facilities where we gained our most current information, we came across one more aspect of Korinek's plan..." Another moment at the computer, then the image changed yet again. This time Ash was frozen in shock.

"According to Korinek, this young woman was designated Miranda Eon. While I've had extensive research done on her, nothing comes up. According to records, she doesn't exist."

"Ash?" said Ember quietly, "What's wrong?"

"Furthermore," said the Commander, "according to Korinek's data this girl is the exact thing he is trying to achieve. In other words, she's an evolved human, though apparently naturally."

"It's nothing," said Ash softly, containing himself just barely. "He was bound to find out about her if he knew this much anyway..."

"What?"

"Having her would immensely speed up Korineks plans. Miss Eon here must not fall into Korinek's hands. I want to send a team to recover her and take her into protective custody until Korinek is dealt with. As it happens, she's here in Element-"

"That won't be necessary."

"Ash?"

"Excuse me?" The Commander was clearly thrown off, as was everyone else in the room, though some much more than others.

"I said it won't be necessary," Ash said, maintaining a level voice. "It's a complete waste of time on your end. She's already under the protection of an Aura Guardian. She's perfectly safe as it is." A moment ago he was in shock but now he was so calm. It felt good to be back on a page he knew.

"And who would that be?" Ash stood up.

"Me," he said shortly. "And I'm not about to let that change so don't worry about her," he said firmly. "I don't know what you think you can accomplish by flanking me like that, but I suggest you don't do anything stupid," he added to the two people who were coming up behind him. Sonia and Ember were on their feet as well, staring at him in confusion. The handcuffs creaked. The two Guardians paused and looked to the Commander for instructions.

"You mean you know this girl?" said the Commander, surprised despite himself.

"More than you can imagine," Ash said glaring at him. The Commander scratched his chin.

"Hmm, interesting, we'll have to talk about this later," he said. "But for now you are disrupting my meeting so I'll just ask you to remain quiet and in your seat." Ash sat down slowly, as did the two women. They looked from him to the Commander, unsure if they should say something or not.

A minute later everyone was sitting back in their seats, though most were still giving Ash furtive looks, especially those sitting on either side of him...

"Look if you've got something to say then say it," he said abruptly.

"Just don't do something like that again, idiot," said Ember after a second, nudging him with her elbow.

"Sorry about that," said Ash, starting to think of the scene he had just caused in embarrassment.

"Right," said the Commander loudly to get everyone's attention. "Miss Eon will be taken care of. This brings us to Korinek's plan... invitation. Well, just watch and you'll see what I mean." Korinek was now again being projected, though this time it was very different.

"Hello, Guardians," said the projection. It looked like it was a prerecorded message. "I am fully aware that you raided one of my labs and now know a good portion of what I am doing. Though you wouldn't know what my plans are, I'd like to let you in on something that's going to happen soon. You know that I'm already making a lot of progress, but I need to test my creations out. So at some point during the finals at the tournament going on now I plan on dropping them into the stadium to wreck the entire place. Please stop them with all your might or people will probably die. Good luck." With that the image vanished and the lights in the room came back up to normal.

"Ah, so that's why you wanted me here in the first place," said Ash, looking over at the Commander. He nodded.

"Yes, I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity here. Also, I'll need you to inform your opponent in the finals. Champion Cynthia," the Commander said. "Like it or not, you two will be the ones who can act quickest and if Korinek isn't just pulling our leg about this then we'll need any advantage we can get to help prevent casualties." Ash said nothing, merely nodding. Though he wasn't about to take orders from anyone here, what the Commander said was exactly what he was thinking anyway. "Now that the main issue is over, let's continue on some more domestic issues..."

Ash sat back in his seat, one ear listening to the various people who spoke and what they were talking about. Most of his focus however was on the Commander. He was clearly very experienced and well liked by his subordinates. His Aura also had a quality about it that suggested he wasn't your average Aura Guardian. Suddenly the lights came back to normal. Ash could see people beginning to stand and gather whatever they came in with.

Sonia went to a group of people who welcomed her happily; good friends likely, Ember gravitated to Nel, who was being asked a bunch of questions by suspicious, and brave, Guardians. Ember quickly scattered them and struck up a conversation with Nel, who smiled and pulled up a chair for her friend. Ash couldn't help but stare at the two. They were so different but complimented each other well.

Ash waited at his seat as eventually most of the others left the room in small groups. Once almost everyone had left, the Commander approached where Ash, Ember, and Sonia were waiting. For a moment, Ash's attention was drawn by Ember. She was fidgeting in her seat, glancing from Ash to the Commander. Was she... nervous? The Commander stopped in front of them and crossed his arms, frowning.

"So to start, you said that Miranda Eon is under your protection?" he asked. "Convince me not to have her taken anyway." Ash narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"I've successfully protected her from Vince Korinek and his considerably enthusiastic group for four years," said Ash coldly. "Don't threaten me or her." Instead of retorting, the Commander surprised Ash by smirking.

"Oh I see, it's like this right?" He held out his right hand with his fingers crossed. Ash just frowned. "Fine, the girl stays with you for now. One more thing. Who's your father?"

"A little over twenty years ago I was born into a family of one: my mother." Ash paused keeping himself calm. "As it happens, my father had left her without a word over half a year before then. So to answer your question, I don't know." Turning to face the Commander, Ash said, "Now, can I ask you a question?"

"Fine. Ask it."

"Are you my father?"

There was a long pause in which everyone waited for the answer they all knew to be true.

"Yes, I guess I am," the Commander said with a sigh. He leaned on the table, deep in thought. It was impossible for Ash to read his expression. Was is sadness he saw, or tiredness. Certainly there was no joy there.

"What's your name? You'll forgive me if I don't call you 'Dad' right?" said Ash.

"Gabriel Meres," he replied.

"Well then Gabriel, nice to finally meet you," Ash said sarcastically.

"Ash," said Ember, putting a hand on his arm, "Please don't-" but Ash shook her off.

"You don't understand. Don't talk like you know me," he snapped.

"That's no way to speak to your older sister," said Gabriel sharply. Ash was taken aback.

"What? Sister?" he said alarmed. Ember rubbed her arm sadly.

"Weren't you paying attention before, Ash? I'm Ember Meres. Same last name."

"Well how about that," muttered Ash. "Extended family indeed." Suddenly he felt drained. So much had happened in the past hour, it was hard for his mind to digest all of it. "Well then I'll take my leave. I don't think I'm in the right place." And with that Ash walked out of the room. He didn't look back once.

"Don't worry Ember, I'll take care of him," said Sonia chasing after him. Gabriel said nothing. He didn't even watch Ash leave. The moment the door closed behind Sonia, Ember rounded on her father.

"What the hell!" she practically shouted. Gabriel jumped at the sudden change in volume.

"What?" he said reflexively.

"What do you mean 'what'! That was horrible! I mean he just found out that his father was in this building earlier today, not that you could have known that, but still why did you bait him like that!" Ember was very upset.

"Look, when I heard the name Ketchum and saw how old he was I just wanted to know who his father was," Gabriel said calmly, hoping that he wouldn't make the girl more mad. "I thought Delia must have gotten with another man right after I left and had a kid right away for him to be that old. But I didn't really believe that either just because Delia isn't that kind of a woman." Unfortunately this had the opposite effect.

"I did a lot of digging to find out that we were related. I knew he would take it badly so I was going to ease him into it. Maybe introduce you two more peacefully; let you get to know each other and not hate each other." Ember groaned. "But now obviously that plan isn't exactly worth anything is it?"

"Oh come on, Ember, how should I know what you're thinking? I'm not a mind reader," Gabriel said annoyed.

"One way or another it doesn't matter, the damage is done." Ember paused, building herself up for something that had hit her much closer to home. "Just now and earlier too Ash said that you left my mom. _Left her_ as in dumped her. I thought that you said that we both had to leave because of Guardian business and saving people or something like that and you actually talked to her about it. I thought she knew!"

"Would you stop getting so worked up! I _did_ talk to her before we left. Obviously Ash doesn't know the full story. I guess Delia never told him," he said, sitting next to Ember and rubbing his hands together. "You don't understand, leaving your mother was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my entire life. I never wanted to endure that kind of pain again so I cut myself off from her and her life. It's as simple as that."

"You call that simple?" Ember said, shaking her head and sinking back into her seat.

XxxxX

"Ash! Ash, wait!"

Sonia grabbed Ash's wrist before he could turn into another corridor. She had followed him a ways before she could catch up. He was good and properly lost.

"Leave me be, Sonia," Ash said roughly but he did not shake her off. They paused, leaning against the wall. "She knew, didn't she? Ember did," asked Ash softly.

"Yeah, she did," said Sonia, "but only for a little while before you showed up. I know she didn't want you to find out like that so please don't take it out on her. You know she's also gone through the same thing as you."

"Oh? And you know this how?" asked Ash, looking at her.

"I've known Ember for almost her whole life; most of us here have," said Sonia simply.

"Well then you just proved yourself wrong," said Ash, turning to face her. Sonia frowned. "Don't assume that I grew up the same way as her. Don't assume that I had anyone like you or anyone else here to take my father's place in my life. When I said I was born into a family of one I meant it. The only person I've had in my life like that was my mom. That's it. I'm sure Ember suffered a lot from not having a mom when she had someone like you around for her whole life." His voice was thick with bitterness.

Sonia opened and closed her mouth. Ash was right, there really wasn't much of a comparison.

"I guess Mom decided that knowing my dad left us was enough for me to handle," Ash said after a moment. "I eventually found out about him, but I never knew about a sister. I guess she made the right choice, I would've been a wreck... well more of one."

"Ash, I know it's sudden; I'm not saying you need to accept your father at all. But could you at least try to think of Ember like family? She's really a wonderful person, even though she has a lot of thorns," said Sonia. Ash shook his head.

"I don't think that'll be too hard," he said with a small smile. "Hey you guys have phones here right?"

"Of course we do. Why?" asked Sonia, perplexed.

"It's been a rough night, but at least some good come of it."

XxxxX

Ember was talking quietly with her father when Ash and Sonia returned to the meeting room. Ash looked around once again, though this time the room was almost empty. He suddenly remembered why the room looked so familiar.

"Ash? Sonia?" said Ember tentatively. She looked anxious, eyes moving from Ash to their father as if waiting for the next fight to begin.

"Don't worry Ember, I'm not about to star fighting again. I'm actually here to get you," said Ash, coming over to the two. Gabriel watched him blankly.

"Here for me?" Ember repeated.

"Yeah I need to take you somewhere right now, it can't wait," Ash said. Glancing at Gabriel he said, "I just realized that this place is identical to the war room in Cameran Palace. Was it built deliberately that way?" Gabriel stood up, his face touched with a small grin.

"Huh, so you really are an Aura Guardian." As he passed Ash he said, "Well, I would expect no less from a son of mine. We'll talk later, Ash."

"Che-"

XxxxX

"Ash, where are you taking me?"

Ash and Ember were alone in the plaza they had met in earlier that day. Street lamps lined the plaza filling the area with a warm light. The fountain was running on a quiet, peaceful setting, and the night air was touched by a warm breeze from the southeast.

"Here," Ash said, resting against the fountain. "There's someone I want you to see."

"But-"

"Just... trust me. Okay?"

Minutes passed in silence when a shadow could be seen under one of the lamps. Ember squinted to make out who it was but Ash already knew.

"Ash? Is that you?" came the voice of Delia Ketchum.

As she came closer Ember said, "Ash, who is that?"

Ash smiled as his mother walked up to them. Hugging her he said, "Hey Mom, it's been a while hasn't it. I hope this place wasn't too hard to get to from where you're staying." She shook her head.

"It sure has dear, I've missed you so much these past years. God you've grown so much," Delia said affectionately touching his face. This was the first time that she ever had to look up to meet his eyes. Time really had passed...

"Wait...mom?" repeated Ember, realization hitting her.

"Who's this, Ash? On the phone you said it was really important that I come here tonight," said Delia looking at Ember curiously; almost as though she faintly recognized her. But Ember was already trembling.

"M-mom..." The words barely escaped Ember's lips, they were so soft. "Ash you-" Delia's jaw dropped as the connection clicked in her mind. The recognition that only a mother could know, even if she had only been with her baby for such a short amount of time.

"Oh my god, Ember!" Ash watched them embrace tightly only for a moment before turning away. He was happy, very happy. Yet, watching them hurt just as much. "But that's impossible. Are you really Ember? Look at you, look at you! Oh my god, this isn't a dream is it?" Delia took a deep breath before saying, "Ash...how?"

"Just got lucky I guess," said Ash, and he walked away to give them space. Before his mother asked him any other uncomfortable questions. There was no way he was going to talk about his father right now.

He found Gardevoir sitting on the edge of the fountain. Playing with a blob of fountain water she was making float in front of her. When she looked at him he said defensively, "What?"

"_Are you alright? You seem distressed."_

"I'm fine, Gardevoir." The water in front of her swirled into various shapes- ever changing.

"_You may be able to hide your despair from them, Ash, but not from me."_

"Haha, no I suppose not, Gardevoir," he said softly, sitting beside her. "It's just..." he looked back at the two women who were now sitting at a table and talking like demons possessed their lips. The tear tracks on Ember's smiling face glistened in the lamplight. "No matter how hard I try, I can't see this kind of a thing happening between me and Gabriel."

"_Nor do I."_

"You think it's hopeless too?" The water flowed back into the fountain.

"_No, just that it's unlikely to imagine you and your father clinging to each other in tears."_ There was an odd feeling in Ash's head much like a snort of laughter. Gardevoir's eyes danced with mirth.

"Hahahaha, thanks Gardevoir." He paused again, looking at his mother and sister, still talking excitedly.

"_Something else?"_

"I was just thinking... My father, Ember, Korinek and his various plans, the final match, Miranda and Cynthia... There's so much going on. So much happening in my head and in the world, that I feel like there isn't enough time take care of all of them. And at the same time, looking at them, I don't want to end the moment, you know?" Gardevoir moved closer to him, settling herself against his side.

"_Neither do I, Ash. Neither do I."_


	13. The Attack

The waiting room was neck deep in silence. Though Ash and Cynthia had arrived together more than thirty minutes earlier, neither said a word, to each other or otherwise. Ash glanced over at Cynthia as she made a small grunt, clearing her throat. She was obviously anxious for the match to start. And considering what had just happened over the past twenty-four hours, who could blame her.

The previous day had been filled with a covert planning that Ash was unused to. After coming back from the Guardian headquarters he went straight to Miranda's, finding Cynthia already there. Despite its nature, Ash actually enjoyed telling his tale of the evening. Things like there being an entire organization of Aura Guardians that were based in Element were fun, but the best of all were the wild cards like, "Oh and I found out I have an older sister. Who knew, right?"

By the time he actually finished explaining everything that happened, answering all of the girls questions down to the most mundane thing, it was well past midnight. Cynthia surprised Ash by not complaining about their battle being interrupted.

"I'll be honest, Ash," she said quietly when he questioned her about it, "but after the tag battle we just had, I'd much rather fight with you than against you. We can do that another time anyway."

Before they ended their meeting, they decided on a list of people to tell about the attack. All of the Champions, Steven, the Frontier Brains, and all the Elite Four members.

"The Guardians are turning out full force to stop this thing, but we can't have enough people help us keep the fans safe," Ash said. Miranda frowned.

"But, I thought you said he wants to test his 'experiments' on you guys. Would he really attack innocent people?" asked Miranda.

"You mean I'm not an innocent victim here too?" said Ash with a grin. Miranda shook her head. In a more serious tone Ash continued, "Unfortunately we have no way of being sure. They will all be in danger if Korinek decides to attack the stands."

Back in reality, Ash got an itch on the back of his neck. Scratching it, he looked at the clock.

11:45. They would be walking out onto the field in five minutes. Pikachu was probably the only one at ease in the room, resting peacefully on the sofa beside him.

"Nervous?"

The sudden sound made Ash jump. Cynthia smiled slightly at his reaction.

"Nah," he said. "I'm just trying to think if we forgot anything. I'd rather not leave any of this up to chance."

"I agree, but what can we do?" Cynthia shook her head, clearing her mind. "At this point all we can so is stay focused and trust everyone to watch our backs."

"That was oddly bracing of you," said Ash, amused.

"What do you mean, oddly?"

Scott opened the door to the stadium and walked in. Cynthia and Ash stood up.

"Ready?" he said, taking them both in. They nodded. "Great. Count to fifteen then follow me out. Good luck to both of you." He turned and left through the door he came in.

Cynthia stepped forward, making it to the door well before Ash could. He looked at her back, wondering what she was thinking.

"Korinek aside, friendship aside, everything aside- Fight well." The door snapped shut.

"You too."

XxxxX

Ash shielded his eyes as he entered the stadium. The glare on the television cameras was blinding.

"Pika-"

"No kidding, buddy. It's packed today."

The stadium was packing an all time high on fans. Every seat was taken. There were even people standing in between aisles and sitting on each other's laps. Clearly, the PTO was bending to rules a bit to let people enjoy themselves. Unfortunately for them, this was not the right day. Ash suddenly found himself very appreciative of the extra help they had gotten earlier. They were going to need every bit of it. But for now...

Cynthia already stood on her side of the field. She had a pokeball in her hand. He was so focused on her that he almost didn't see the large pool of water directly in front of him. Blinking, Ash took in the rest of the battle field. The field was littered with different zones. Mostly earthy, filled with grass, rocks, and small shrubs, but there were some aquatic. It must have taken everything Scott had to get this done on time. Impressive, but again, luck was not with the PTO today.

As Ash took hits position the stands cheered and shouted for the battle to start.

"Welcome everyone!" said Scott over his personal mic. "I've never seen a crowd quite like this one. Are you all ready for a world-class battle?" Ash and Cynthia both rolled their eyes. Scott will always be Scott. He was such an energy maniac when it came to things like this.

"To my left, the beautiful and powerful Champion of the Sinnoh region, Cynthia Shirona!" Cynthia raised her hands to wave at the roaring fans. She had quite the following.

"And to my right, the rising star of this tournament. Hailing from the Kanto region, Ash Ketchum!"

Ash pumped his fist in the air getting an equally enthusiastic roar from the crowd. He could hear faint chanting, "Kanto, Kanto..." from one section of the stands. Ash grinned.

"This is a six on six full Pokemon battle," Scott continued when the crowd had calmed somewhat. "Substitutions are unlimited. Fight to your best abilities! Please choose your first Pokemon!"

"Armaldo, let's show them something they'll never forget!"

"Gastrodon, to battle!"

"Now, let the battle begin!

"Gastrodon start off strong! Muddy Water!" Water from two of the nearby pools jetted out into the sky and arched at Armaldo.

"Armaldo, Earth Power, quickly!" shouted Ash. Seconds later the flood of water crashed into Armaldo. Even without protecting himself, Ash knew that Armaldo should be able to take an attack like that. Still, it was Cynthia's Pokemon... But when the water dispersed all that could be seen was a rough sphere of rock encasing Armaldo.

"He's trapped himself, get in close and Body Slam!" called Cynthia. She understood the capabilities an Armaldo had, and digging itself out of anything fast was not one of them.

"Move to the offensive!" Ash shouted, hoping he could be heard under all that rock. Pillars of rock shot up out of the ground all around Armaldo. Unable to see he just did the best he could to protect himself. The stone cocoon fell away leaving Armaldo surrounded by pillars. Neither Ash or his Pokemon could see where Gastrodon was. Suddenly Ash was struck with an idea.

"He's underwater! Behind you!"

"Now Gastrodon, Sludge Bomb!" cried Cynthia. Gastrodon shot up out of the pool nearest Armaldo and shot a number of Sludge Bombs at him. All were direct hits.

"Armaldo!" Ash could hear Scott over the speaker.

"This is looking bad for Armaldo. Unless my eyes are deceiving me, he looks like he's been poisoned!"

Unfortunately, Scott was right. The way that Armaldo was leaning on a nearby pillar proved it. He looked back and caught Ash's eyes. It was clear that he was still full of fight. Ash grinned.

"How about we stop playing defensively. Armaldo, Crush Claw!" Apparently Cynthia was not expecting a Pokemon who played so defensively to come on the offensive.

"Gastrodon, out of the way!"

Gastrodon just managed to evade the Crush Claw, which destroyed one of the pillars.

"Good, now Ice Beam!" Cynthia shouted.

"Crap, dodge!" But it hit, and hard. Armaldo was frozen so that only his head and one arm were free. "Armaldo, Hyperbeam!" Ash knew that it would be over if Gastrodon got in an attack or two on a defenseless Armaldo, so it was all or nothing. And at this point in time, he hit it big. Armaldo's Hyperbeam connected with Gastrodon, pushing it through pillars all the way into a side wall where it stayed, unconscious.

"Gastrodon is unable to battle!" called Scott. Cynthia recalled him, picking another Pokemon.

"This will be quick, Nidoqueen take him out!" But Nidoqueen didn't move after being called.

"What's this? The Champion's Pokemon isn't listening?" Scott sounded like he couldn't believe what he was saying. Then he looked at Armaldo. "Wait a second, Armaldo is unconscious. Armaldo is unable to battle!"

Ash knew Armaldo wouldn't last much longer after the Hyperbeam. He had been poisoned and frozen after all. "Good job, Armaldo," he said as he recalled the Pokemon. "You set the bar high." Ash looked to his side. "You ready to go? Not the best type to fight, but we've trained to handle stuff like this, right?"

Pikachu just sparked a bit and ran onto the field.

"Ash's next Pokemon is his Pikachu! Was that the right choice? It looks pretty one sided to me here!" called Scott expectantly. The crowd shouted like usual. Cynthia frowned. What was Ash up to sending out an electric type against a ground type.

"Let's start off strong, eh buddy? Quick Attack!"

"Nidoqueen, be cautious! Dodge and use Poison Jab."

"Double Team!" Ash shouted. The Pikachu that Nidoqueen stabbed with the Poison Jab vanished. Pikachu images were everywhere.

"Too easy, Ash! Earthquake!" shouted Cynthia.

"Pikachu!" The ground shook with the attack. Pikachu's Double Team vanished slowly as each image was crushed by falling rock or the like. When the shaking ended, Pikachu could be seen on the top of a pile of rubble. He looked scuffed up but not terrible. Ash wasn't about to let any time go to waste. He needed to press an actual attack.

"Pikachu, Agility into Iron Tail!"

"Nidoqueen get your guard up!" Cynthia's command just saved Nidoqueen from getting a strong Iron Tail to the face. The attack still pushed the Pokemon back several feet, staggering her somewhat.

"Again!" shouted Ash, taking advantage of Nidoqueen being off balance. But Nidoqueen recovered fast, dodging the attack and countering with a series of Poison Jabs.

"Good, keep it up! Don't let him recover!" shouted Cynthia. Pikachu dodged attack after attack waiting until- One of the attacks went too wide, leaving a gap in the attack.

"Now, attack!" shouted Ash. Pikachu unfurled a wicked Iron Tail attack, sending Nidoqueen onto her back, yards away. "Finish it!" Pikachu ran up quickly and jumped putting all his power into one last Iron Tail.

"Earth Power!" shouted Cynthia.

Still on her back, Nidoqueen slammed her left hand on the ground beside her and swiped it at Pikachu. A thick pillar of earth shot out of the ground, colliding with the airborne Pokemon, sending him flying to the side. Ash was only stunned for a second at this sudden attack before running off to the side after Pikachu. That last attack would have knocked the sense out of any Pokemon, let alone an electric type.

"Hey buddy, you alright?"

"Pikaaa-" as in, 'What do you think?'

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" Scott shouted to the cries of the stands. "What a come from behind knockout! Pikachu really had Nidoqueen on the ropes for a while there. Excellent battling!"

Ash returned to his position on the end of the field. His eyes met Cynthia's. She knew what was coming. "Nidoqueen, return."

"Gardevoir, I choose you."

"Gallade, it's time."

The crowd was screaming like no tomorrow. "And here it is everyone!" shouted Scott, "One of the most anticipated battle match-ups in this entire tournament. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited now!" Ever since they had won the tag battle with this pair, everyone was talking of them battling. And here it was.

The two Pokemon did not attack. They slowly circled each other, waiting for an opening to attack. The crowd quieted as they did so, the roar turning into a low hum. Ash watched Cynthia for any sign of a command, but she had none. Just as he did.

Suddenly Gallade shot forward, arm sweeping through Gardevoir's torso. The Double Team image of Gardevoir faded leaving the air empty. Gallade suddenly ducked, Gardevoir's attack missing by inches. They broke apart then attacked again. Exchanging light blows, barely avoiding the other's attacks. This time Gardevoir came out on top, a psychic attack blasting Gallade far back. He righted himself and landed on his feet, lightly injured.

"Keep your range, Gardevoir!" Ash shouted, giving the first command.

"Don't let her set the pace, Gallade! Get in there and take command!" shouted Cynthia in response.

Gardevoir lifted a large pile of rubble and began hurling pieces of it at Gallade. Gallade moved forwards, dodging what he could and deflecting the rest. "Use Shadow Ball!"

"Quick Gardevoir, Energy Ball!"

The two attacks collided causing an explosion. The crowd shouted its approval but neither Pokemon has stopped attacking. They closed again, Gallade using a number of powerful fighting moves, while Gardevoir blocked and dodged, occasionally getting in a strong hit or two.

"Gallade, Psycho Cut!"

"Gardevoir, Focus Blast!"

The two attacks met again, blasting the Pokemon back to where their trainers were. Gallade again displaying his balance by landing on his feet, while Gardevoir just righted herself in mid air, hovering. Ash saw Cynthia's lips move but couldn't hear what she said over the crowd. Gallade nodded, the two blades extending from his elbows.

"Looks like we should get serious too," said Ash to Gardevoir. Gardevoir's eyes flashed and the ground around her cracked. Ash could feel the psychic pressure emanating from her body. It was this same pressure that had drawn Ash to her so many years ago and caused him to battle her with Lucario, resulting in her capture.

Now when Gardevoir and Gallade met with a crash, the field took damage. Gallade's attacks left long gouges in the ground, and Gardevoir's psychic pressure reduced small pieces of rubble to dust. There was no telling how the battle would end.

"Gardevoir, Shock Wave!"

"Counter it with Confusion!" Gallade blocked the Shock Wave attack with a piece of the field then rushed in. "Leaf Blade!" The attack landed heavily across Gardevoir's chest.

"Gardevoir! Fight back!" shouted Ash. Gardevoir's eyes flashed again and Gallade was lifted high and slammed into the ground. The stands were cheering for the display the two Pokemon were putting on and their spirit.

Now both Pokemon were looking tired. It was clear that this round would be ending soon. They stared at each other, preparing their final attack when they sensed something. As one the two Pokemon looked up then teleported to their trainers' sides. Just then a great beam struck the battlefield dead center, wiping out most of the field. Gardevoir and Gallade both teleported their trainers back to near where the stands were. Ash couldn't see Cynthia through all the dust that had been created through the attack.

"_They're here,"_ said Gardevoir.

XxxxX

Half a mile above the stadium, Vince Korinek sat in his ship, smiling. They had arrived completely undetected as he knew they would. His ship was an upgraded version of J's old ship which had gone down years ago. He had his engineers work tirelessly to improve upon every system in the ship, from navigation to stealth. Korinek currently looked at the main monitor, which had an image of the stadium below. It was easy enough to make out the two trainers, Cynthia Shirona and his personal favorite pain in the ass, Ash Ketchum. Their Pokemon on the other hand were moving about so rapidly that it was anyone's guess as to what was going on. If he didn't have a job to get done, he might have actually watched this battle. He may not be the most law abiding person but he still had great passion for Pokemon battling.

"Captain," said one of the officers.

"What is it?"

"The operation is ready. Waiting for your word," she said with a nod.

"Excellent," Korinek said. "Return to your station. We will begin in a moment."

"Sir."

"Alright, everyone, let's get this show on the road," said Korinek, standing up. "I want minute by minute reports on the hunters. Bring up the secondary monitors with their vitals." Sitting down, he pressed a button on his chair. "Cedric, are you ready to receive data?" The intercom crackled for a moment.

"Yes, Sir. We have everything running on multiple systems so we don't miss or lose a thing," came the gruff man's voice.

"Well then, begin the operation." Korinek sat back in his seat, staring at the main monitor, waiting.

XxxxX

There could only be one thing that Gardevoir was talking about. More explosions from the field created more dust, completely obscuring it. People in the stands were screaming all sorts of things. Despite the chaos, Commander Meres was completely in control. Over the confusion he spoke into his headset.

"Report."

"We have a visual of the attackers, Commander." The voice was Sonia's. "Ten Pokemon, Dragonite and Salamance."

"Begin the evacuation. Have a squad stand outside of the stadium. I want it covered the entire time," he continued.

"Yes, Sir."

The commander was now pushing his way to the arena. "All units, protect the civilians until they are clear of the battlefield. Then we begin."

Ash felt the hunters land. All at once the ground of the stadium shook slightly, though he and Cynthia were probably the only ones to notice it as everyone else in the stadium was deep in the chaos. From the screams, it had sounded as if a couple of blasts had hit the stands. Doubtless there were injured people everywhere and the battling hadn't even begun. A large blast of air hit his face and the smoke that lingered throughout the stadium was blown away, revealing a large group of people and Pokemon in the center of the field. Ash could just make out Cynthia at the far end opposite himself, her Garchomp easily visible next to her.

"Is this it?" came a rough voice from the center of the group of hunters. "I was expecting something heavier." Ash watched as a hulking man emerged from the group. He gave off the air of a commander. Doing a quick head count, Ash saw that there were fifteen hunters. Five of them threw out Pokeballs, each calling out their own Tyranitar. Now the Pokemon count stood at five Dragonite, five Salamance, and five Tyranitar.

Suddenly noticing a lack in crowd volume, Ash quickly looked around to find that there were hardly any people left in the stands. It seemed that the extra help they had enlisted was well worth it. He could now see Guardians dropping onto the field and approaching the group of hunters, Pokemon after Pokemon being called out. They were quite the little army. Ash placed a hand at the back of his belt and waited, ready for anything. Or so he thought.

"Commander, we have an incoming message from the surface."

"Put it through," said Korinek.

"We're surrounded, Mr. K," came the rough voice of the hunters leader. "How should we proceed?" Korinek smiled.

"Show them the power you have obtained. Let no one stop you."

It was all Ash could do not to step back. Every person watching the hunters had frozen, unsure what to make of what was going on. Each hunter had just pulled out a syringe and stuck themselves somewhere on their bodies, injecting a completely clear fluid into their bodies. Silence at first, then screaming. The hunters all doubled over, clutching their chests, arms, heads- markings began to appear right were each hunter stuck himself with the syringe. Ash looked at the marking of the leader. It looked like a pair of wings. The leader stared at him, his eyes flashing, and put his hand up.

"Attack! Destroy everything!" he roared.

Cynthia dodged an attack from one of the Salamances. It whizzed over her head and crashed into the seats behind her, leaving a large hole and exposing the inner structure of the stadium.

"Garchomp!" she shouted. Her Pokemon slammed into the side of the Salamance with huge force, sending it toppling down the stands, all the way to the field. Chaos ensued. From the moment it began, Cynthia had no idea where anyone or anything was. It was all she could do to keep herself from getting hit. The hunters' Pokemon were attacking anything that moved. A Dragonite swooped down, strafing the area in front of her. In just a few moments she would be hit!

"PIKA!" A thick bolt of white hot lightning arced over Cynthia's shoulder. The Dragonite just managed to dodge the attack in time, flying off to a different area. The lightning carved its through a row of the higher tiered seats, leaving melted plastic behind.

"Pikachu!" said Cynthia in relief. "You saved me. Where's Ash?" But Pikachu shook his head. Clearly they had been separated. "Well stick with me, then," she continued. Spotting a Tyranitar that was overpowering a group of Guardians, Cynthia called out, "Gallade, let's go help them out."

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the stadium, Ash ducked behind the wall of one of the many TV camera booths for a momentary breather. His hand moved to his belt, taking inventory. Pikachu had become separated from him at the very beginning of the battle. He wasn't too worried though. Pikachu could more than handle himself, and was used to being in battle after battle. Armaldo was out of commission from the earlier battle with Cynthia and needed a Pokemon center to recover. Gardevoir was, hopefully, keeping an eye on Miranda. Ash still had a completely rested Zangoose, Ninetales, and Lucario, who he was saving for the right moment.

Peeking his head out Ash watched the battle rage. It was an out of control battle. Though the Guardians had numbers, the drugged hunters and their empowered Pokemon were more than a match for an entire group of them. It was almost like fighting Miranda's siblings. After a moment, Ash began to notice there were many who weren't actually fighting. Most obvious was Nurse Joy, her uniform easy to distinguish amidst the chaos. It appeared that there was a larger medical force than he thought there would be. It only showed how prepared the Guardians had come.

Of the fifteen hunter-Pokemon pairs, four had been taken out. That in itself told him that they could win this. Yet even though almost a third of the hunters were down, it did not seem like the Guardians had gained any ground. Then Ash noticed someone close.

"Brock!"

Brock looked around wildly, before seeing Ash and running over.

"Ash, are you alright?" he said quickly, looking him over.

"Brock it's fine, I'm not hurt," Ash responded quickly, shaking his hands. "What's going on?"

"Sorry, you're the first person who's called out to me that hasn't been badly hurt," he explained, resting behind the low wall as well. "What are you doing up here? I figured you would be in the thick of it."

"I was," said Ash, taking another look across the battlefield, "but I took my distance so I could try to get a grasp of what's happening everywhere."

"Trying to find, Miranda and Cynthia?" asked Brock knowingly. Ash shook his head with an internal sigh.

"Not really, but have you seen them at all?"

"I haven't seen Cynthia, but Miranda was over on the east side of the stands," said Brock, pointing. "I wouldn't worry though, I'm pretty sure I saw your Gardevoir with her."

"That's good," said Ash, a bit of the tension in his gut loosening. "Plus Cynthia is more than capable of taking care of herself in a situation like this." Brock looked around slowly.

"Right, well I need to keep moving around looking for injured. You keep an eye out," he added before taking off towards the field below. Ash began running along in the stands. He could see a group of Guardians fighting a huge hunter and his Tyranitar. Looking at the way he was dwarfing every Guardian, Ash figured the man was around seven feet tall.

"Get out of the way!" came a female voice from ahead.

Moments later a beam swept out, razing the ground in a straight line from the Tyranitar to Ash. He dove out of the way like the Guardians did. Shaking himself off Ash, stood up and began to make his way to the battle when he felt the ground give way under his feet. Suddenly the seats around him were rushing up and over his head- No! He was falling down! Down, into the black depths of the infrastructure of the stadium.

"Ash!" cried Miranda. Since the beginning of the battle, Miranda had been running around trying to avoid the hunters and their Pokemon. Everything about them was wrong. The way they looked, the power they possessed, how similar their markings were to hers- Thankfully, Gardevoir had showed up to keep her safe and she was happy for the company. Miranda couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening. She was worried about Ash. And, almost as if it was meant to happen, she suddenly saw him across the stands, running alone toward another battling group. Her heart skipped a beat when the Tyranitar attacked him, but it was nothing to seeing him vanish into the stands.

"Gardevoir!" But the Pokemon, who had been at her side a moment ago, was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone to Ash's aid. Suddenly, Miranda saw herself, cowering in the stands behind Ash's Pokemon who weren't able to help him because they were stuck with her. She pinched her cheeks until she squeaked in pain.

"I can't be doing this! I should be fighting, like everyone else it!" He hand went to her belt. "Flareon! Jolteon! Umbreon!" Out came the three Pokemon. "Let's go you three! Time to help out!"

"Right!" they said in voices only she could understand, and the four headed for the heart of the stadium.

"WAAAAAAHHHH!"

Ash fell at a frightening pace. Support beams for the stands whizzed by his face, missing by inches. It was only luck he hadn't hit anything in the first few seconds. But now he could see a solid beam stretched out right where he was falling. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact...but it never came.

Slowly opening his eyes, Ash gave a start as the beam was a hair in front of his faec. He was floating.

"Gardevoir," he said in relief, as he was turned upright and set on the beam so he could stand. "Thank god you were-" but he stopped as Gardevoir wrapped her arms around his chest, burying her head in his shirt. The force of the hug knocked him off the beam but they did not fall. Just floated there, tilted somewhat diagonally back.

"_You big, stupid idiot! I thought I didn't make it in time!" _came her psychic voice, positively ringing with despair and relief. Still aware of the fact that they were now almost upside down, Ash returned the hug with a smile. Gardevoir's grip only tightened. _"...you're my whole world."_

"I'm sorry Gardevoir, I'll be more careful," he said softly, rubbing her head soothingly. They were now close to another series of support beams, and Ash was able to reach out and pull themselves up and onto it. Gardevoir released him, and the psychic field was dropped, allowing Ash's feet to finally rest firmly on solid ground. "Actually I could use your help now, in battle," he finished to clarify. Gardevoir nodded.

Returning to stable ground, Ash shielded his eyes against the blinding sun. As soon as his eyes became accustomed to the light though he saw a bad situation. The battle he had been heading towards earlier had taken a turn for the worse for the Guardians. Now it was only one Guardian left and a Lucario that Ash suddenly recognized as Rush, the Lucario that his Zangoose battled. That meant the Guardian had to be-

"Sonia!" Ash shouted. Sonia turned her head to se a very welcomed sight. She knew she wasn't going to hold out for much longer after her squad had been taken out around her. A blast knocked Rush backwards into a handful of seats, destroying them. The Tyranitar never stopped using powerful moves. It just never got tired or ran out of energy.

"Rush!" she shouted. Ash ran up and grabbed her Pokemon, jumping to the side to avoid another attack. He simultaneously threw a pokeball.

"Zangoose, cover us!"

Zangoose burst from the pokeball and instantly fired off a series of Razor Wind attacks, grabbing the attention of the Tyranitar, who shot a Dark Pulse at the Pokemon. Zangoose easily dodged it and Gardevoir was able to slip in to land a powerful Focus Blast attack. Sonia took the opportunity to run over to Rush, who was alright, but not great.

"Can you still move? Can you still fight?" she asked him. He stood up somewhat shakily and nodded.

"Hang on a second, don't go haring off just yet," said Ash. He put his hands on Rush's back and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, Rush blinked, looking at his paws. Awed, he looked up at Ash.

"Thank you," he said.

"Don't sweat it, it's just a small boost. It won't last forever either, so get yourself to a medic if you can soon." Ash looked at Tyranitar with a frown. "They'll be able to help keep you going better."

"Thank's, Ash, whatever you did," said Sonia. "Now let's take this guy out together."

"You guys take the Tyranitar, I'll take out the hunter," said Ash, running forward and grabbing his compacted staff off of his back. He twisted it and it extended to the size of a regular quarterstaff. The hunter, seeing Ash coming at him, picked up a broken stadium seat and hurled it at Ash. He knocked it out of the way and advanced. Dodging another seat, Ash shifted to the side to avoid one of the Pokemon's attacks, though he wasn't sure who fired it, and waded into the hunter's space. Out of chairs, the hunter took a mighty swing at Ash who avoided it coolly. Missing completely, the hunter lost his balance and Ash helped him to his knees by hitting the man's lower legs. Ash finished it by knocking him out across the back of the head. This was no time to be polite about it.

As the hunter lost consciousness, Tyranitar faltered. Apparently his supply of limitless energy had just been severed. Zangoose was able to easily finish the Pokemon with an Ice Claw attack.

"What the hell, why was that last bit so easy?" said Sonia.

"The trainer is the one who supplies the bulk of the power," Ash explained. "Take him out and you've got an almost regular Pokemon." Ash sat on the only undamaged seat in the area. "I mean, it sounds like a good plan in theory, but usually you're way too busy with the Pokemon to begin with. Plus," he stood up, looking at the sky. Sonia followed his gaze then returned it to Ash, "These guys are nowhere near being complete."

XxxxX

When the hunters first landed, Ember was fairly far away from the stadium. She was at headquarters, in command of a two squad unit left there just in case anything outside of Korinek's said plan happened. Waiting at the mansion was not something that she had wanted to do, but her father was very clear about her orders. Stay here and make sure nothing bad happens. In other words, I'm keeping you safe so just stay put.

The squads were mulling about one of the common areas closest to the main floor. Most of them however were keeping an eye on Ember, who was eating a snack and watching the battle between Ash and Cynthia on a flat panel TV, hanging on the far wall in the room. Pikachu had just been defeated narrowly by Cynthia's Nidoqueen. It was amazing to see how tough the small mouse Pokemon could actually be. Of course, the next matchup left Ember speechless. The way Gardevoir and Gallade moved, who knew Pokemon could battle like that. For the first time in her life, Ember felt the thrill of excitement from Pokemon battling surge through her veins. It had never been anything special to her before, but now...

"BOOM!"

Everyone in the room was watching the screen, which was suddenly filled with smoke. The camera angle kept changing but it was all the same: the battlefield was covered with smoke and dust. More booms. Suddenly one of the cameras angled up just in time to see something shine, then the screen went fuzzy.

"It's started," said one of the men who was sitting at a table.

"God, I almost forgot about it, that battle was so good," said another.

"I know. Wish I could fight like that."

"Quiet," shot Ember, and they all fell silent, standing at attention. Ember pressed her earpiece deeper into her ear and said, "Sonia? Commander? What's the situation?"

"Ember," came her father's voice, "the attack has begun. We've started the evacuation and it's going as well as it can."

"I'll bring my team to back you up-" Ember began.

"Negative," came the stern interruption. "Remain where you are, we have everything under control here." Ember growled. "Glad you understand. Meres out."

"Um, Reader..." Ember growled at the use of her title, "I mean, Miss Ember, Ma'am. What's the plan?"

"What do you think?" She said, walking to the head of the room. "We're backup."

"Ma'am!" chorused the group.

It took them no time at all to reach the stadium. They had emergency vehicles they could use for such occasions. Getting through the huge crowd on the outside of the stadium was a completely different matter entirely. The area around the stadium had been cleared for five blocks in every direction, and for good reason. Parts of the structure had fallen onto the ground and explosions could be heard from inside. There were medics everywhere, bringing people out of the stadium to get treated and going back in to find more. Following one of those medics, Ember led her squad into a nightmare.

They entered the stadium at ground level. There was chaos everywhere they looked. Dragonite, Salamance, and Tyranitar dominated as Guardians did their best to defend.

"Spread out and assist any in need!" Ember shouted over the din. "Work in teams to take out the hunters!" Her squad scattered. They knew how to handle themselves. She ran to her left, skirting the wall to limit any incoming attacks to just one side. She was unable to see her father or Sonia, but she knew plenty of the Guardians that fought in her immediate area. Closing her eyes, Ember sent out an Aura pulse throughout the stadium, giving her an instant readout of where people were. The readings she got from the hunters disturbed her. They were, unstable. Something else nagged at her mind, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Sending out another pulse, she understood the source of her confusion. Way above the stadium, in the completely empty sky, there were enough people to fill a building. That could only be one thing: Korinek's ship. Ember was so caught up in her reading that she almost didn't see the attack coming at her. She dove to the side, as the wall behind her crumbled into pieces. Launching to her feet, Ember ran into the field, Pokeball in her hand.

"Innes!"

Her own Lucario appeared at her side, deflecting another attack directed at her. Ember was now almost in the middle of the field. There were at least four different hunters in her range, excluding the one that was attacking her. Not knowing where to turn Ember didn't see the attack at her back and she was blasted off of her feet. She came to a stop a few yards away, staring up at the sky hazily. A blurry figure was above her, saying something that she couldn't make out...

Miranda saw the girl get knocked off of her feet.

"Cover us you three!" Flareon, Jolteon, and Umbreon formed a tight circle around the two girls as Miranda went to the injured girl's side.

"Hey! Don't black out! Wake up!" The girl groaned and blinked. Miranda helped her sit up. "Are you alright?" A Lucario, who must have been hers, ran up to the girl.

"I'm fine Innes." She looked up at Miranda and stood. "Same to you, I'm fine. Thanks though."

"As long as you're okay. I'm Miranda by the way," Miranda said.

"I'm Ember," she said.

"Wait, you're Ash's sister! Oh it's so nice to meet you," Miranda said cheerfully. A large explosion came to life close by, making both girls jump.

"You know these kinds of greeting are really out of place for a battlefield," said Ember, already moving to the next enemy.

"Wait up, it's better to go together," said Miranda, running after her. "You don't want to get hit again, right?"

"Just come on."

Ember charged ahead, Miranda close behind with her three Pokemon out. Their target was a Dragonite and Salamance who were fighting against a group of injured Guardians. Apparently the hunter with the Salamance thought they were a more important target because he began to rush the group.

"Dragonbreath!"

"Innes! Aura Sphere!" shouted Ember, running to the side. The Aura Sphere cut right through the Dragonbreath, hitting the Salamance in the face but causing little visible damage. "Seriously, what is with these Pokemon!"

"They draw all of their power from the trainers. It makes them very tough and gives their attacks way more power!" shouted Miranda, who had dodged the other way to give the Salamance one more target to choose from. "Jolteon, Thunderbolt!" The attack as just as effective as the Aura Sphere, but drew the Pokemon's attention to the side, countering with a Dragon Claw that rent the ground. Jolteon dodged back and joined the others.

"Miranda, in front!" Ember shouted suddenly, pointing at the Dragonite. A Hyperbeam tore through the ground, just missing the girl and raveling all the way to the edge of the field where it left a huge crater in the wall. "Innes, Force Palm!" But the Dragonite knocked Innes aside with a gust from his wings. The Dragonite put a foot on the Lucario's legs, stopping him from moving, mouth charging another Hyperbeam. "Innes!"

"Flareon!"

"I'm ready!" he shouted to Miranda.

"Resonate with the Flame!" she shouted, arm out. The flame tattoo on her arm began to shine red. The air around Flareon became distorted, rippling with heat. "Now, Inferno!"

The small Pokemon let forth a funnel of flame that expanded rapidly, completely engulfing Salamance and Dragonite, continuing on to the other end of the field and crashing into the wall. The hunters launched themselves out of the way to avoid being completely roasted. Ember looked in awe from the attack, to the Flareon, to Miranda; her eyes bright and teeth flashing.

So _this_ was Miranda Eon.

Moments later the attack ended and Miranda's tattoo became black again. The Flareon appeared to have lost... whatever it had gained.

"Miranda, that was..." Ember's voice was brought up short when Miranda looked at her curiously. The iris's of Miranda's eyes had changed to a blood red, a stark difference from their cute brown.

"Oh," said Miranda, pointing to her eyes, "Don't worry about it, it'll go away after a bit." Ember shook her head. There were things here she wasn't sure she even _wanted_ to know about. Groans brought both trainers back to reality.

The Dragonite and Salamance both were severely damaged. The hunters looked to be trying their best to get them up, but they had taken too much damage to recover from that quickly. Suddenly a Garchomp sped into the scene, felling both Pokemon with swift Dragon Claw attacks.

"Cynthia!" shouted Miranda, waving at an approaching figure. "And Pikachu, too!"

Cynthia recalled Garchomp. Even she need to take breaks, and after fighting with more than four of the hunter's Pokemon, her Garchomp deserved it.

"Lucario, time to join the battle," Cynthia said, tossing out another pokeball. Her Lucario hadn't been used at all yet. Reaching the girls, Cynthia gave Miranda a small hug. Pikachu jumped up on her shoulders. Miranda's companion was clearly a Guardian, but she had never seen the girl before.

"It's Ember, nice to meet you," said Ember. Miranda pulled on Cynthia's arm.

"She's Ash's sister!" she said excitedly

"Oh," said Cynthia. Now much more interested in the girl than she was five seconds ago. The resemblance was small, but there. Ember raised one of her eyebrows in a way so reminiscent of Ash that Cynthia suppressed a smile. The corner of her mouth twitched. "Anyway, let's stick together. It's safer and we will be able to fight more efficiently. Miranda, remind me later to talk to you about that last attack of yours."

"They're starting to focus on this area of the battlefield," said Ember suddenly, looking around. The other two looked around and saw she was right. There were no longer any hunters in the stands that they could tell. They had defeated a little over half the hunters now, but they had lost so many Guardians. Now only the most resilient Guardians were standing with their Pokemon. From what could be seen, they were one of the two main fighting groups that now opposed the hunters.

"Guardians rally!" shouted Ember, causing the various Guardians in their immediate area to form up around them. Cynthia blinked at this unexpected force they now had. "Forward!" With a much bigger unit, they were able to wade into a group of three hunters and their Pokemon with good effect. The high number of attacks were good enough to keep the Pokemon on the defensive. They weren't immortal after all."

"On us!" shouted one of the hunters. They all grouped up in a tight not. Cried were suddenly heard from behind them. Turning, the three girls saw three Hyperbeams incoming at their group. The hunter had called for support from the other group of hunters engaging the main group of Guardians. People in their group scrambled to get away, pushing one another over in their haste. Miranda was shoved into Ember and Cynthia, all three toppling into a heap. Their Pokemon jumped in front of them to protect them but-

A figure dropped to the ground in front of all of them out of thin air.

"Lucario, Gardevoir, divert it!"

"Lucario countered with a heavy Flash Cannon, the beam colliding with one of the Hyperbeams, nullifying it with an explosion. The other two came on. Gardevoir waved her arms slowly then raised them as if lifting something very heavy. The right most beam wavered, then bent up at an angle, shooting off harmlessly into the sky. The remaining beam went straight at Ash. "Not today," he said, slamming his hands together, then drawing them apart.

Ember felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. Ash was doing something with a lot of aura. Then she saw the wall. The Hyperbeam struck the wall pushing Ash back, but he stood his ground, and the beam dissipated. Ash sank to one knee, and Gardevoir was at his shoulder. Pikachu ran up to his side, checking up on his long time partner.

"It's alright, you two. They're just stronger than I thought," he said, standing and turning to face the girls. "You three okay?"

"Nice entrance, little brother," said Ember, dusting herself off.

"Gotta impress my big sister at least," said Ash, eyes still on the battles surrounding them. The three hunters in this group had all been knocked unconscious and their Pokemon had gone down with them. It was time to end this. Ash began to walk to one of the hunters lying on the ground.

"Where are you going Ash? We need to join the other group, there are only four hunters left," said Ember. Ash bent and relieved one of the hunters of his headset, putting it on.

"No need to worry, your father is over there," he said, jerking his thumb to the group. "He's strong." Ash looked up. "Anyway, I think we should take care of something else, don't you?" Ember suddenly understood what Ash was talking about.

"Testing, testing, can you hear me now?"

Korinek was watching the battle die down when he heard Ash's voice on the radio. He froze and motioned one of the crewmen to bring it up on the main screen.

"Ash Ketchum, so I see you survived the party," he said calmly, leaning back in his chair.

"Is that all you've got, Korinek? Your experiments are weak."

Korinek's mouth twitched. "Well, they might be a far stretch from the original, but they were hardly a failure. I wonder if you could tell me how many of the precious Guardian Force had to retire?" This time it was Ash who clenched his teeth. He had been dealing with Vince Korinek on and off since the attack on the village years ago. They both knew how to annoy the other. "Oh, and speaking of the original. How _is_ that monster?"

"You should run," said Ash coldly.

"And you should worry about yourself," he said back, pressing a button on the chair, severing the communication. Suddenly the ship rocked about violently. "What's going on!"

"We're under attack, Sir!"

"What?"

"From the surface!" The main monitor showed a group of Pokemon all firing attacks into the sky, directly at the ship.

"83 degrees up, due east! Fire!" shouted Ember, using her aura radar to accurately point out the cloaked ship. The attacks connected with apparent thin air and exploded. The ship rocked again, violently.

"Evasive maneuvers! How can they see us?" Korinek. He knew that the Guardians had the ability to detect life to a degree but not at this range. Of course, there was always a chance of there being a specialist.

Meanwhile on the ground Ash looked about and saw that they had almost completely won the battle. Commander Meres and his Machamp were taking out the last hunter as he watched, the four armed Pokemon tossing the Tyranitar like it was made of plastic. Ash walked over to Ember and put a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. Miranda and Cynthia were right behind him.

"Battle won."

"Commander, Sir," said one of the research crew.

"What is it?" asked Korinek.

"All of the hunter's vitals read them as unconscious."

"Well, I was thinking it was about time to go anyway. I've got more than enough data to continue my lab work." Korinek stood and paced the bridge, looking at the many monitors that were filled with the data he worked so hard to get. "I'm in no rush. I have all the time in the world."

XxxxX

Half an hour later Ash sat in a makeshift first aid area, getting patched up. He had picked up a number of nasty cuts from falling through the stands and had bruises here and there. Miranda was sitting next to him, making sure he was alright. Miraculously, she had no injuries to speak of. Maybe a smudge of dirt on he nose? Cynthia was a ways off, talking to Flint and the other extra help they had gotten earlier. They had been a great help in the evacuation.

All in all the final numbers weren't great, but it could have been much worse. Due to the great medical teams that made it through the battle, no Guardian died or ended up in a terrible state. Broken bones and cuts would heal with some time. Unfortunately, of the hunters, only five were still alive. After using a power that wasn't meant for them they all suffered the backlash that Ash had seen Miranda endure before. Most died during transport to a Guardian controlled hospital. The others were in critical condition.

"Ketchum."

Ash looked up to find Commander Meres standing in front of him with little Holly at his heels.

"There will be a debriefing tonight at eight. I hope you will join us. And you," he said, turning his gaze to Miranda. "Because you probably don't know this, I am Gabriel Meres. I head the Aura Guardians here in Element. I hope you will join us tonight, Miss Eon."

"Of course, I'd be happy to," said Miranda, ever the diplomat. "We will be there."

"Excellent. I figured it would be alright as the tournament seems to be over," he said, waving a hand around aimlessly at the destruction. "Come on Holly, let's go find Ember. She disobeyed orders like I told you she would..." The Commander walked off.

"Ash?" said Miranda softly.

"It's alright, we need to go to that meeting anyway. For my sake," Ash looked at the girl who had been with him for almost five years. Chased out of her home because of a power she never asked for. Hunted by an organization bent on changing the human genome. And here she was, keeping him company through it all. Ash smiled slightly and ruffled her hair, "And for yours as well."


	14. A Matter of Royalty

"Ship is prepared to dock. On your order's Captain."

"Proceed," said Vince Korinek, finally raising himself from the Captain's chair. He reached down and hit one of the buttons on the arm of the chair. "Aero, I'm heading into the base. Have the research team meet me in the conference room close to my quarters in half an hour."

"Sure thing, Sir," came Aero's voice.

Korinek left the bridge and made his way to one of the docking ports in the ship that would allow him to exit to one of the upper levels in the docking bay. As he exited the ship he looked around, still impressed by the space he was in even though he had joined J's Hunters years ago. The space that housed the ship was massive. Though well lit, it was still difficult to make out the walls and ceiling. There were multiple entrances to the base from the ground, and there were several raised platforms that had access to some of the higher levels. He could see a large number of people moving to the ship on the ground to begin the external repairs. It was sometimes difficult to believe such a base actually existed within Mt. Coronet. When he first joined the Hunters, J had explained how most people knew very little about anything they did. The few that were aware of the fact that she had an airship though that it was her flying base. Little did they know that her Pokemon hunting organization was as well established as Team Rocket or any of the other teams throughout the regions. And now he commanded it all.

Realizing that he was getting caught up in memories, Korinek shook his head and entered the base. Despite its size, he knew the entire facility like the back of his hand. It was one of the things that had allowed him to take control so easily. Now, he headed for his personal quarters.

"Vince," came Aero's voice again, though this time through his earpiece.

"What is it?"

"The R&D team heads are all waiting for you in the conference room. I told them you wouldn't be there for a while, but they went anyway. I guess they're excited," he said, amusement in his voice. Korinek smiled. They were a strange bunch.

"They should be. I've got some great material after all," he said, pressing his thumb against a reader on the side of a door. The light next to the reader turned from red to green and the door opened. He was now in a private section of the base. Only a select few had access to this area.

"I'm going to get back to my own projects," Aero continued, "Anything else you need me to do before I get to it?"

"Thank you but no, Aero, you're free. Just let me know if anything important comes up."

"Business as usual then. Enjoy the meeting, Sir." Korinek took the communicator out of his ear and made his way towards the end of the long hallway, taking a turn about half way down. One more minute of walking and he was home. After another thumb print reading, he walked into his living quarters. Taking off his jacket and throwing it over the arm of the couch, he approached the large panel on the back wall of the room. It was the height of a large window and stretched from on end of the room to the other.

"Just pick a random one from my favorites," he said to the room at large. Sunlight shown into the room, making it considerably brighter. The panel had instantly turned on, showing a beautiful view of rolling hills and mountains. A herd of Pokemon could be seen moving to a lake on the right side of the scape. The scene was so detailed it was hard to believe there wasn't a window against the back wall. This was one of the pieces of technology that he had introduced to the Hunters when he took over. J's leadership was marked by a cold dictatorship with respect for her ability to do anything she wanted without limit. Everyone respected her, but feared her. It was a tightly run organization, but it lacked in many areas. After working as J's second for a while, he knew that when he made his move to take over, he would need to change some policies and living conditions. The result was that everyone treated him the same way they treated J. but with the added bonus that most of his subordinates actually liked him to an extent.

"Perfect, now it doesn't feel like a dungeon," Korinek said, moving to his desk. It was covered in a stack of reports one of his secretaries had left there while he was away. Instead of looking through them like he normally would, he walked through a door and into the one joined with his. J's room. At first he had wondered about moving into J's room. It was certainly much, much larger than his own. The connection to his own was fairly new as well. However, it felt better to use the room as his private study. He was the only one who could get into the room apart from J, and after what he had done to her, she was certainly dead.

He walked over to the computer station against the far wall. Taking a small computer chip out of his pocket, he inserted it into the computer. A DNA strand sprang into life as a hologram over the projector. He couldn't help but smile at his own work. Pressing a few buttons, another chip popped out of the computer next to the one he entered. He took the copy and left the room. It was time to meet with the heart of his operation.

XxxxX

Aero watched on the monitor as Korinek entered the private wing he lived in. There were surveillance cameras in there as well, but he wasn't able to see those. It wasn't that his boss didn't trust him, it's just that it wasn't his job. By splitting up the areas of the base, the security department was able to keep a tighter watch on everything, rather than a loose one on only some things. Suddenly a face popped up in front of him; a girl with strawberry blond hair, wearing a lab coat.

"What is it this time, Melody?"

"Is he coming?"

"He will get there when he gets there, please stop calling me," said Aero, sighing. He closed the communication. The less he had to interact with Korinek's research team the better. They were not the kind of people he liked getting into extended conversations with.

XxxxX

"Aww he cut me off again," said Melody to the room at large. The other three people in the room looked at the young girl.

"That's because you won't leave him alone," said Ernest, the eldest of them. He sat patiently in a chair, going through notes on a data pad.

"Vince will probably be here in a few minutes anyway. It's been about half an hour since we were called," said the other woman, resting against a wall.

"True, Arianna, he is quite punctual," said the last of the four. He sat across from Ernest, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed. "And it's not Vince, it's Mr. Korinek."

"Ronan, I keep telling you to call me Aria," said the woman with a huff. "Arianna is what my grandmother called me. Yuck."

"A nickname is just a waste of a beautiful name itself," said Ronan poetically. Ernest and Melody rolled their eyes. The door opened to reveal Korinek. Everyone stood and faced him at attention.

"Relax, all of you. With me you're the heart of this entire operation. I don't see any reason to treat you like the others," he said, shaking his head.

"With all due respect Mr. Korinek, you are the head researcher, so it's natural for us to do this," said Ernest simply. To this the others nodded. Korinek grinned.

"Whatever you say," he walked to the head of the table and drew the chip out of his pocket. "This has all of the data I gathered during the recent field test in Element City. The Guardians proved to be extremely useful."

"I still don't understand why we had to go and drop them in the middle of the tournament like that," said Ronan, arms folded. "All of the subjects were lost right?" Korinek nodded.

"Most of them. It's unfortunate that the first round ended the way it did."

"But they all volunteered right?" said Melody. "They knew the risks just like we did. We won't ever get anywhere if we think to hard about the dangers."

"True," said Aria. "I mean we are trying to rewrite a portion of the human genome."

"Still, we must never forget why we are doing this," said Ernest. "This is for the future of mankind."

"And that's why I've gathered you all, the brightest minds this world has ever known. I believe we can truly do this," said Korinek. He inserted the chip into the computer in the room and hit a few buttons. The same image of the DNA was projected in the center of the table. "Let me recap what we've accomplished so far." Everyone took a seat.

"Our first problem was figuring out exactly what had to be done to inhibit the change on current humans to produce the evolution we wanted. We managed to understand what that was by analyzing the DNA samples I have of Miranda Eon's siblings, as rough as they were. In each sibling there was a specific area in the genetic coding that differed from a normal humans DNA. We also determined that it was the same area in each siblings DNA." Korinek hit a few more buttons and a different image appeared. It was the specific section of the DNA that he was talking about.

"However, when we initially began attempting to alter the code, we failed miserably. I hesitate to think of the kind of creatures that would have been created if we actually tried to implement it. Fortunately, we have made a great amount of progress over these past few years. An outstanding amount of progress. Though we still lack the understanding of specifically why it works, we now have the ability to create a bond with a single Pokemon of our choosing."

"Within limits of course," said Melody.

"Right," continued Korinek. "However, the human body is not capable of withstanding the strain this connection puts on it. This is where we are currently at." More button presses and data flashed around the table, showing charts and other statistical information regarding their latest experiments.

"I saw what the data said," said Ernest, "but what is your opinion from a first hand standpoint? What was it like?" Korinek leaned back in his seat and waved a hand at the table, causing the images to disappear. He threaded his fingers together in thought.

"Well, first of all it worked. The serum caused the genetic mutation that gave them their powers, which they were able to use. And they worked. The Pokemon had seemingly unlimited energy from the trainers, and even the most mundane attacks were exponentially stronger. However..." he broke off.

"What is it?" said Aria after a second. Korinek looked at her.

"Though I know there are major problems with what we currently have, such as the extreme harm it causes to the human, two things struck me." He held out a finger. "First was that Ash Ketchum called them weak. Now I know they are nothing like Miranda Eon, but I certainly would not call them weak. I think we are missing something in our formulas that is causing us to create shadows, instead of the real thing."

"An interesting theory, and totally possible," said Ronan, shrugging. Melody fidgeted in her seat.

"What was the second thing?" she asked.

"Ah, that I can show you," said Korinek, busying himself with the computer again. "This is a video that one of the airship cameras took. It is magnified several times so we can see what is going on." The five watched as a girl with a Flareon raised her arm, shouted something, and then the Flareon decimated everything in front of it. A few seconds later it was over and they continued the fight like nothing happened.

"I wasn't aware that Miss Eon took part in the battle," said Ernest, scratching his chin. Melody shook her head.

"Well Ash was there wasn't he?" she said in a matter of fact way. "She's usually relatively close to wherever he is."

"True," said Aria smiling slightly. Young girls could be so cute. She looked at the hyper Melody and sighed. Well, sometimes. "What are you showing us here specifically?"

"The girl actually has some level of control on what she is doing," said Ronan, genuinely interested. "As far as we knew, she would go crazy and destroy everything until she burned out, but we didn't know that her ability could be controlled."

"Precisely," said Korinek. "I hate to say it, but humans don't have anything akin to her power that could be called a consciously activated ability. We have nothing to base our work off of and I shudder to think of the number of years that it would take to actually produce some kind of result... but I don't have the leisure of years of failure to get a single success. It's time we focus our efforts and solve our problems by going right to the source."

"I agree," said Ernest. "Subtlety has lost it's place. It's time we got Miranda Eon's DNA."

XxxxX

Miranda sat in a guest room in the Guardian HQ. Ash had just left her, saying that her accommodations were much better than his had been when he first came to the mansion. She had originally planned on going back to her apartment to wind down, but Ember convinced her to take a room in Headquarters. It wasn't that she didn't like the place she was staying in, but the prospect of having someone cook for her for every meal was too good to pass up. Also, she would be able to see Ember more easily, and Miranda really wanted to get to know Ash's new found sibling.

Letting her Pokemon out, Miranda moved to the large bay window at the rear of the room. It was evening now, but her room was so high up that she could still see perfectly bright blue sky in the distance to the west.

"This place is fancy," said Leafeon, jumping into a chair and looking around at the large room. It was easily twice the size of her entire apartment; kitchen and all. The others spread out, exploring the room.

"Well, for now this is going to be where I'm staying so make yourselves comfortable," explained Miranda, scratching her Espeon's head. There was a light knock on her door. "Come in," she said loudly. The door opened and Ember poked her head in.

"My debriefing is over so I can show you around now, if you want," she said.

"Yeah, I'd like that," said Miranda, happy to have something to do. "Be good you all," she said to her Pokemon as she closed the door behind herself. As they made their way to the center of the floor, Miranda asked, "Have you heard anything about how the injured Guardians are doing?"

"Yes, many of them are recovering rapidly, thanks to our Healers. Ah, you don't know anything about our system so that doesn't mean anything to you does it," said Ember absently. In the Aura Guardians, there are those who are doctors as well as Guardians. They specialize in a difficult application of Aura manipulation that helps people recover their own Auras. Ash probably never explained how Aura worked to you did he?" Miranda shook her head, bemused. After an immensely incomprehensible attempt from Ash she hadn't broached the subject again. Ember sighed.

"Alright, Aura is—this is the main area for your floor by the way. It's a nice lounge area with a great view of northern Element. Sorry- Aura is more or less like a force that resides in everything, living and non-living. By the way, living things contain exponentially larger amounts of Aura than non-living things do. Actually, non-living things contain so little Aura that as far as I know, no one can sense it. Anyway, back to what I was referring to earlier, every living thing has it in varying amounts. Some living beings have more of it than others; lots more. Usually it's humans and some Pokemon. When you're badly injured your Aura is diminished as well. A Healer tries to help restore Aura and promote natural healing. Sometimes they will boost your Aura a bit to help too, but not by so much that they do it all the time."

"So what happens if you get someone who's been impaled by a spear or something?" asked Miranda, looking out of the windows at the city below. "I mean natural healing only goes so far you know?"

"That's why they're doctors to begin with."

"Ah, I see."

"Let me show you where the most common places you'll be visiting are," Ember continued, pressing a button on the back wall. Double doors slid apart, revealing an elevator.

"This place is so elaborate," said Miranda as they sped downwards.

"Yeah, you get used to it after a while. I've been here practically my whole life so it's nothing special to me anymore."

"How- old were you when you started living here?" asked Miranda.

"I lived with my Mom and Dad in Pallet town for about a year before Dad took me to live here," said Ember. "Just relax, would you? I'm not going to bite your head off or anything."

"Sorry," said Miranda slightly abashed. "Ash told me that he took you to meet his- your mom. It must have been great to see her after all this time. I know what it's like to be away from family for a long time."

"Trust me, it was more of a 'nice to meet you' thing than 'it's been a while.'" Miranda's sensitive ears picked up Ember's murmured line, "Haha, I have a mom now." Ember smiled to herself, unaware of Miranda watching. She smiled as well, though it was a sad smile.

The elevator finally came to a stop on the second floor. Ember led the way down the main hallway, pointing out certain peoples' offices and such. After a minute they arrived at the largest room in the mansion: the dining room. Ember watched as Miranda's eyes lit up at the sight of so much different food. They walked to the nearest station where a man stood surrounded by frying pans and chopped vegetables

"Hey Tom," said Ember, smiling while trying to ignore the child Miranda had become.

"Good evening, Ember. You look lovely as usual," said the cook, winking familiarly. Ember rolled her eyes. They were good natured flirts. All of them. Sometimes she didn't know whether she enjoyed it or was simply tired of it. Whatever the reason, her father had decided that getting food should be just as fun as eating food, and here they were.

"You smell great, are you an Aura Guardian too?" said Miranda suddenly, catching the other two off guard. A few people around them chuckled and continued their meal. Ember felt her face heating up.

"Of course he's an Aura Guardian," she said before Tom could speak. "Everyone who works here is an Aura Guardian in some capacity or another."

"She's quite right," said Tom, "and who might you be? A new member I hope?" Miranda blinked at him.

"Are you hitting on me?"

Everyone within ear shot snorted into their plates, stifling their laughter. Even Ember was forced to turn her face away, biting her lip. This girl...

"Miranda, what are you doing?" came a tired voice from behind them. Ash had just come in through the main doors. "I just came to check out the dining area. It's huge!"

"Sorry for the idle chatter, Miss," said Tom with a smile. He was apparently unaffected by Miranda's words. "Can I get you three anything to eat from here?"

"I'm actually going to come back later," said Ash. "I've just got a few more things to take care of before I eat. How late is this place open until?"

"Hunger never stops so neither do we," said Tom with a shrug. He flipped some sizzling veggies in a pan to his side without a glance at it. Ash grinned.

"My kind of place. What are you two up to anyway?" he asked Ember.

"I'm giving her a tour. I was going to do it earlier but I had to stay at the debriefing longer than everyone else. The Commander chewed me out for disobeying orders." Ash's mouth twitched slightly. Ember wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"Well I'm sure it was worth it. We were all glad for the reinforcements," he said after a moment. "Anyway, I'm off." And with that, he turned and left, back into the main hall.

"Come on," said Ember, "lets keep walking around. There's still a bunch of things you should see."

They walked around the full of the dining room before making their way back to the main hall. Apart from waving hello to a few people she knew, Ember said nothing. Miranda also was silent, tasting things as she went, but otherwise normal. They followed the hall until they reached the large circular room Ash and Sonia had battled in earlier.

"I know it's not easy to talk about family around him, but give him some time and he'll figure out what to do," said Miranda suddenly. Ember looked at her with a frown. It certainly _was_ awkward whenever it came up. "I think he just needs some time to think, you know?"

"I mean, it's not like I'm happy the way things are either," said Ember after a second. Miranda was so innocent in everything she did it was hard _not_ to open up to her.

"I know you guys will figure it all out. Family will always be family, no matter what happens."

"Yeah I guess you're right," said Ember, shaking her head. "Come on, let me show you the underground."

"You mean there are things below the mansion?" asked Miranda surprised.

"It goes almost as far down as it goes up."

"WHAT?"

XxxxX

Many floors below ground, Ash sat alone in one of the large combat training rooms. There were a large number of small ones throughout the underground, however they felt too closed in for him at that moment. This room was different from the others in that it was completely empty. The ceiling was a number of floors high and there were reinforced windows along the higher reaches of the wall, wrapping around the walls like a long headband of glass. At ground level there were two doors. One led into the rest area for this training room. It had a number of amenities for people spending more than a few hours in the room at a time, as well as bathrooms. The other door led back in into the facility.

Closing his eyes, he fell into meditation, something he hadn't done since the start of the tournament. First he focused on his breathing, bringing it under control and silent. Once he felt more at peace, he focused on his Aura. He grimaced. If the Elders ever saw how badly maintained he was keeping his Aura they would put him through his paces like demons. Thinking of the Elders, he unconsciously straightened his back. Memories drifted lazily in and out of his mind...

"_This is hopeless..." A woman paced in front of Ash who sat quietly on the ground, legs crossed and eyes closed. Unfortunately, his ears could not do the same. "I told the others we couldn't rely on external help for something so critical. You, boy, just stop. It's useless." Ash bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying anything back to the woman. He was still having a difficult time accepting that this rude, obnoxious woman was Cynthia's close friend._

"_Look, I barely know what I'm supposed to be doing to begin with," Ash said for what seemed to be the hundredth time. "I told you, I've only ever been able to use Aura once, and that time I had help. I don't even know what Aura is!"_

"_Boy, you couldn't be more right about that if you tried," said the woman, looking over at him. Silently Ash counted to ten. 'It's alright,' he thought. 'I am not thinking about killing her. Fifteen year old boys don't think about killing people.' The woman pulled out the compass that had started this whole mess to begin with. "Stupid thing must be broken or something."_

_'Maybe I'll just kill her a little?'_

"_Well, nothing for it. Try again," she said. "Just this time do it right. According to this thing," she shook the compass slightly, "you have some incredible Aura wedged in that short body you've got. If that's really true than I don't understand how you can't feel it."_

"_...yes, Elder."_

Getting an itch, Ash came back to reality. That damn woman... she had made so many days of his life a complete hell. Almost as if he could hear her shouting orders at him, he took a slow and steady breath. It was easy to regain his rhythm. On the intake, he mentally drew himself in, gathering his Aura like it was the folds of a cloak, then breathing out he released it, driving his Aura away to fill the room. Mentally, he registered one source of Aura, his own. True to what one of the Guardians had told him about the training rooms, they were well shielded against Aura in general so that what was happening inside wouldn't disturb anything happening outside, and the other way around. Breathing in he gathered his Aura again, though this time he pushed away much harder, forcing his mind past the reinforced walls like they were made of paper. He began to sense the area around the room. It widened gradually until he was able to register the whole of the Guardian's Headquarters. He retracted back to the room, only sensing himself again.

Twenty minutes later, Ash had sweated his shirt straight through. He had repeated the exercise again and again, each time trying to reach a bit further and sense a bit more. With the added obstacle of the shielded room it was very draining. Now he needed a short break.

"God what are those walls made of anyway?" he said to himself, as he walked into the side room. It was simple but perfect for what he needed. Ash got himself some water and sat on a couch only to notice a large closet against one wall. Opening it he was surprised with training outfits and other clothing. Apparently he was not the first to end up in this room wanting a new shirt.

"Gardevoir?" he said to the room at large as he sorted through the plain shirts for one his size.

"_Yes?"_ came the mental response instantly. Ash smiled. She was always keeping an ear out to him.

"I'm doing some meditation. Come join me. Actually bring Lucario too, he could use the exercise," he added after a thought. By the time the fresh shirt was over his head, Gardevoir had appeared with Lucario's pokeball. He emerged in a ball of red light looking bored.

"Hey, let's meditate," said Ash jerking his head to the open door. Lucario shook his head.

"It's about time you got back into your routine. I was wondering if you were beginning to forget what we do," he said evenly walking past him into the large empty space. Ash watched his back, still caught in the past.

"_What's this?" Ash had just been led through a series of rooms to an immense outdoor area. The immediate area was a square of sorts with a small but wide fountain in the middle. The edges of the square had paths that led off and out of sight. The most distinct feature of the area however was that it was covered by Riolu and Lucario. There were tons of them. The demon Elder nudged Ash forwards and they walked into the throng._

"_This is the Temple's Riolu and Lucario population," she said. "We raise and train the best guardian partners here. Guardians who already belong to the Order usually come here to get a Lucario partner, though some choose to go out and capture a wild one. Not to say that these are tame by any means." Ash shuddered slightly. She was grinning in a way that could only possibly mean trouble for him, and he hadn't improved at all in their meditation lessons._

"_So wait am I here to choose a partner?" he asked, feeling somewhat enthusiastic. One look at the Elder's face crushed his hopes._

"_Pfft, you really think we'd give one of our trained Lucarios to an amateur like you? You're still as hopeless as the day you showed up and that was over a month ago. Even a Riolu would be too much." Ash just looked at the ground. Damn woman._

"_I'm done."_

"_What?"_

"_I said I'm done," said Ash. He couldn't even muster any force behind his words. "I really can't believe that someone as kind as Cynthia would even associate herself with a person as cold blooded as you are. Find some other toy to look down on. I'm leaving." He started walking in a random direction. The Pokemon around him parted to let him through. The Elder just crossed her arms._

"_Don't be such a baby. Where on earth do you think you're going to go?"_

"_Anywhere, as long as you're not there."_

"Ash?" Ash gave a start. He had drifted off for a second, staring into space. Lucario watched him closely.

"_Is everything alright?"_ Gardevoir put a light hand on his shoulder. Her eyes were filled with concern. Ash smiled at her.

"I'm alright, sorry about that. I was just caught up in some memories. What were you saying Lucario?"

"I was just saying that this place is strange. I can't sense anything outside this room," he said.

"Yeah it's got something to do with how it's made. It isn't impossible to read through though, you just have to actually try for it." Ash sat down. "I mean, sensing Aura is so second nature for an Aura Guardian so it's easy to forget what it's like without it. Anyway, match my breathing you two. And in..."

They focused on breathing for a few minutes. Once it felt like they had gotten their inner peace Ash set them each to individual training. As they hadn't done much in the past month, Lucario was given the same task Ash had been doing earlier; expanding and condensing. With the walls of the room it would give him a good work out.

"_What would you have me work on?"_ asked Gardevoir. Ash scratched his head.

"Well, honestly I'm not too sure. I've really done everything I can think of to teach you something new. I'll do some thinking on it for later training. For now though it would be good for you to work on improving your control of multiple objects at once." Gardevoir tilted her head slightly to one side.

"_Together or separately?"_

Ash smiled. This was one of the things he loved the most about her. She was quite intelligent and didn't take him literally when he didn't mean for it. "Separately. I want you to try manipulating two objects in two completely different ways. You do it subconsciously when you're protecting yourself, but it that's more of a sixth sense reaction. Want to give it a try?"

"_Sounds interesting,"_ she said.

"Alright then, grab a few things out of the side room to practice with. If you get some confidence then we'll help test it out." Lucario grinned from his seat, eyes still closed. To him there was no better an opponent.

XxxxX

Half way to the bottom floor and Ember had a ferocious headache. She and Miranda were talking about random things now, having exhausted normal conversation topics. Another pulse of head pain made Ember lose balance, falling sideways against the wall. Miranda looked around alarmed.

"Ember are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Sorry, it's my head. I don't know why it's hurting so much," she said gripping Miranda so as not to fall over again. The dizziness passed after a moment and she stood up straight. "Thank you."

"Of course, why don't we try to find you something to drink," said Miranda.

"Nearest place would be one of the lounges connected to the training rooms. I'm sure I can find something for my headache there too."

"Where are they?" asked Miranda. Ember pointed down the hall.

"The training rooms are actually really close. We'll be able to see into one of them as we go down this hall," she explained as they walked slowly. "A little after that are some stairs we can take straight down to the floor with the entrance." They could see the long window getting closer to them on their left.

"Hey, it's Ash," said Miranda pointing down into the room. "Gardevoir and Luca too. Are they training?" Ember looked down curiously. The Lucario and Gardevoir were certainly battling but Ash seemed to be involved as well, running around the room with them. Blinking, she squinted at him. The air seemed to ripple around his body. Suddenly the rippling got more intense and she felt another spike of pain in her head. Was it a coincidence? Could _he_ possibly causing it?

"Let's hurry."

"What?" Miranda looked over at Ember, who was shakily making her way down the hall. Ember turned back to face her.

"Hurry, we should stop him."

XxxxX

Ash dropped to the floor in exhaustion. Lucario was also panting, having used far more power than he was accustomed to. Of course, that was the whole point of the training. If you didn't push yourself, you'd never get results. Ash looked over at Gardevoir. She was perfectly fine. Her rate of improvement was always staggering. Considering their semi-serious spar, sometimes he truly wondered which of the two Pokemon was stronger.

"_They're finally here, Ash," _she said.

"Yeah I know, thanks," he responded. He had felt Ember and Miranda approaching for a while, and figured he would stop when they showed up. As Gardevoir said, the two girls opened the door seconds later.

"Ash, what are you doing?" said Miranda, coming over to him. "You look beat... and sweaty."

"And my headache is gone," said Ember, looking at Ash with some sort of understanding. "Why don't we head into the lounge here so Ash can wash up." Ember immediately walked to the other door and entered the lounge.

"What's up with her?" asked Ash.

"I don't know, she was fine until just recently," said Miranda, walking to the lounge with him. "She got really dizzy and fell over when we got close to the window up there. She said she had a terrible headache." As they entered, Ember looked straight at Ash.

"Go freshen up, there's a full bathroom in the back. I need to straighten something out with you."

"Sure," said Ash, wondering what it would be this time. Ten minutes later, they all sat around the table.

"I'll get straight to it," said Ember, "You're hiding something about who you are. You have to be. You have too much power to be a regular old Aura Guardian." Ash opened his mouth to speak but Ember forestalled him. "When I first met you I felt something not normal about your Aura. Since then I didn't feel anything special so I dismissed it, but today... I've never in my entire life had someone affect me like that. And you were _inside_ the training room."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," said Ash honestly. "But to be frank, for you to be affected by Aura like that means you're not what you appear to be either."

"I told you, I'm a Reader. How many Readers do you really think there are in the Guardians?"

"What's a Reader?" asked Miranda curiously. "Being a Reader, what does that mean?"

"It means I have an extremely high sensitivity to Aura... how should I put this?" Ember scratched her cheek then said, "See, an average Aura Guardian will be able to sense Aura within a few hundred feet in all directions. In general, the better the ability, the farther that goes. I..."

"Ember naturally senses the Auras of everything in Element City," said a voice at the door. "And that's without trying." They all turned to see Sonia standing there. "Hey guys, I've been looking all over for you. Had to call security to put a bead on ya."

"Man, the whole city? Even that's a bit of a stretch for me," said Ash scratching his chin. Miranda gaped at Ember.

"Then you're like a Super-Guardian or something," she said awed. Ash stared at her.

"What about me?" he said to her. Miranda shook her head.

"You're a Knight Master or something like that right? That isn't anything like what she is, is it?" Ash sighed, putting his face into his hands.

"Knight Master!" shouted both Sonia and Ember at the same time. "Knight Master?" repeated Ember, slightly bemused.

"Nice one Miranda," said Ash at which Miranda smiled apologetically. "Look it's complicated," he added to Ember. She was lost for words.

"Sorry, Ash," said Miranda. Ash just sighed.

"It's alright, they'd have found out eventually," reasoned Ash, "I'm sure someone's got a file on me somewhere."

"Wait wait, everyone stop!" said Sonia loudly, pulling up the conversation short.

"Sonia, do you believe-"

"Ember!" Sonia's shout made them all sit up. "I'm sorry but we don't have time for this. As much as I'd like to pick you apart, Ash, I'm not here for that." She took a breath. "Ash, Ember, you've both been summoned."

"Summoned?" repeated Ash.

"By who?" asked Ember. Sonia leaned against the door frame.

"The Queen."

XxxxX

Cynthia stood alone on the roof of her hotel building. Wanting some fresh air, but not wanting to have to take any Pokemon with her, she had sought out a custodial worker. It was not as if people were regularly allowed access to the roof, but not many people could say no to the young Sinnoh Champion. The city lights sparkled like the night sky. Leaning against one of the side walls, she looked at the small white cylinder in her hand. The man who had opened the roof for her had given her a cigarette and a lighter, saying she looked like she may need it. Not knowing how to respond Cynthia ended up keeping it.

"As if I would smoke," she said with a scoff, shaking her head at the thought. "And what did he mean, I looked like I would need it, I'm not a wreck or anything," she added grumpily. Alright, so maybe recently she had been in a sort of emotional turmoil. What of it? She had experienced crushes before and she knew what it was like to not be able to get something she wanted. How was this any different?

The cigarette seemed to stare back at her. "I might as well light it." She held the cigarette out in front of her face, holding the flame up to the proper end. After a number of seconds the end was an orange glow that dimmed after a moment. Did she even do it right? She could just make out a thin rail of smoke coming from the lit end.

"What's so appealing about this thing anyway."

A minute passed, her eyes still locked on the small glow at the end of the cigarette.

Cynthia put the unlit end to her lips and inhaled, sucking hard.

"HACK!"

She choked immediately, hacking out a puff of smoke before throwing the cigarette as far as she could over the side of the roof. A chuckle brought Cynthia back to reality with a start. Someone else was on the roof.

"Who's- cough- there?" she managed. It was dark enough that she couldn't make out the speaker against the shadows, though the speaker was definitely male. How did he get there without me knowing? I was the only one here when I came. Although in the back of her mind she was still thinking, I just tried to smoke a cigarette, what's wrong with me.

"I have to say, you're nothing like the reports said you are. Were you always this childish?" said the voice in genuine curiosity. Cynthia's eyes narrowed. Childish? She closed her eyes, concentrating. She hadn't done this trick in years, but she hoped it would still work. Suddenly she had it. She could feel it.

"Light!" she said and the stone set in her ring shone with light, illuminating the surrounding area, and her mystery guest. "There you are, now who are you?"

"Well, well. That was nifty," said the man, stepping forward. He was completely clothed in black; even his head. All Cynthia could see were bright green eyes shining back at her from her light. "Please, allow me to apologize for calling you childish."

"It's alright, just answer my question. Who are you and why are you here?"

"Ah, well I'm known as the Night Courier. Nier for short, if it pleases you," said Nier.

"Uh-huh," said Cynthia raising her eyebrows. Say what?

"As the name suggests, I deliver things. And with the silence and swiftness as the night, I might add." Cynthia sighed. Why was it that she always ended up meeting the craziest people whenever she needed some time to herself. Her evening of reflecting on her current life situations was crushed in the face of, The Night Courier. Good god.

"I'm sorry," said Cynthia, "but you come off as a bit nuts, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't really take anything you say seriously." To Cynthia's surprise, Nier laughed.

"You really are just like your mother." That stopped Cynthia cold.

"What do you know about my mother?"

"We are old acquaintances Well, were, is the proper word isn't it. Time is a fleeting thing after all. Rest her soul," said Nier, placing a black hand over his heart. Cynthia didn't know what to make of the situation anymore. What on earth was going on?

"You still haven't told me what you're here for," she shot, unable to keep the frustration out of her voice. "You said you're a courier right? Couriers deliver things, so what are you delivering?" Nier looked met her eyes and she could instantly tell he was smiling. Involuntarily, she took a step back.

"You, of course."


	15. The Given and the Taken

"The Queen?!"

Ash and Ember were shocked, to say the least.

"The Queen," repeated Sonia. "As in you are leaving as soon as you get some things together. People are getting ready upstairs as we speak."

"Who's the Queen?" asked Miranda quickly. She didn't like being left out of exciting situations. Ember looked from her to Ash.

"How can you have been around him for so long and not know who the Queen it?" she asked, more to Ash than the girl. Ash shrugged.

"I guess it never came up," he said. "You have to understand I haven't been back at the palace in a while."

"Walk and talk, people. _Walk _and talk," said Sonia, shooing them all out of the room.

"Gardevoir," said Ash, "Take Lucario back to the room and wait there for me, alright?"

"_Alright."_ The two Pokemon vanished.

"Put simply, the Queen is the leader of all the Aura Guardians," said Ember, again taking the role of the explainer. "She lives at Cameran Palace in Rota. It's in Kanto."

"But is she actually a Queen or is she just called that?" pressed Miranda. Ash shook his head.

"No she's actual royalty. The royal blood line is still strong in the family, and the people of Rota live traditionally as they always did, which was under the monarchy." He paused, thinking, then said, "It's a small thing, but big at the same time."

"I'll just take your word for it," said Miranda. They reached an elevator and were moving up in no time at all.

"It's actually kind of funny because the Aura Guardians are more or less a group that hides in plain sight," said Sonia, leaning against the elevator wall. "Everyone knows about us, yet no one knows about us. I mean in Rota, they even have a tournament every year to determine who is the 'True Guardian of Aura'. All in honor of Sir Aaron, one of the earliest officially recognized Aura Guardians. It's even said that- what?" she said to Ash, who she now noticed was trying to suppress laughter. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing, I'm sorry," he said, smoothing the amusement out of his face. "I was just reminded of something."

"Right," said Sonia, raising her eyebrows. "Anyway, as I was saying, it's said that Sir Aaron and the Queen of that time started the Guardians. The organization has been around for a _really_ long time at any rate."

"Wow," said Miranda. Ash smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. She was always was one who liked stories of any kind. When he lived with her in the village she always bugged him to tell her stories of his adventures. The elevator dinged and came to a stop at the ground level. Sonia stepped out and turned to face the others, arm out to prevent the door from closing.

"I don't know the details of why you are being summoned, so just go prepared. Miranda, why don't you come help me get a few things ready for the others who are going to go with them."

"Alright," said the girl, stepping out. "I'll see you two in a bit then." The door closed. Ember pressed the button for her floor and they began moving again. For whatever reason, Ash had been given a temporary room on the same floor as his sister. They stood there in silence.

"Hey, Ember..."

"What?" said the girl, not looking at him.

"Do you think you could keep the Knight Master thing quiet for the time being?" he asked.

"Why? If that really is your rank then everyone will find out eventually anyway." Ember did have a point.

"It's just something I don't normally like to talk about. It feels like bragging and it's made a lot of people awkward around me. Cuz I'm young," he elaborated, at Embers confused look. She shook her head and said,

"That's fine. I won't mention it for now. But you have to tell me one thing." Ash raised his eyebrows. Where was this going to go... "What did you find so funny when Sonia was talking earlier?"

"Oh," Ash said surprised. "I actually won that tournament when I was a lot younger. The first time I visited Rota my friends and I competed and I ended up as The True Guardian of Aura."

"Cute," said Ember, grinning. Ash nudged her and she almost fell over. "Oi, what was that for?" But Ash was laughing. She couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see him finally being a bit more normal around her. They arrived at their floor and got out.

"Meet back here in five minutes?" asked Ash, looking at her. Ember nodded.

"Be quick about it."

Ash's room was on the opposite side of the mansion that Ember's was. Now that he was alone his mind was racing with thoughts. Why had he been summoned? Why didn't they contact him directly like they usually did when they needed to talk with him? And why was Ember summoned as well?

"_I've gotten everything you could need ready,"_ said Gardevoir, from the side of the room. She was the only Pokemon apart from Pikachu who was out of his pokeball. Pikachu sat on the bed, next to the other pokeballs.

"Thanks, Gardevoir," said Ash finding the pile of clothing on the chair for him to change into. "Wait, should I really be going in this? I mean I _am_ trying to keep a low profile while I can." Gardevoir had obviously returned to his hotel suite to have gotten this. It was his Guardian uniform.

According to the woman who had made it for him at the Palace, it was tradition for every Aura Guardian who reached a certain rank to be presented with a personalized uniform and item. Centuries ago it used to be armor and a weapon, however times had certainly changed since then and there was no need to prep anyone for warfare. The woman had also said that it wasn't really worth thinking about and for him to not worry about it; and so he received this uniform and his extendable staff. The uniform was a mesh of dark blue, grey, and black. It had armored gloves and leggings, though the metal armor was crafted into the material so it didn't look like an old fashioned suit of armor. It was very durable and quite easy to move around in.

Dressed, Ash secured the staff in its holder and grabbed a large cloak from the closet. It completely covered everything but his head. He looked at himself in a mirror and grinned. No matter where you went, Aura Guardians loved their cloaks. Looking over to the bed, he noticed that his pokeballs were floating in front of him.

"_You're in a hurry, right?"_

"Haha, I wish I could do some of the things you do," said Ash as he attached the pokeballs to his belt. "Pikachu, let's go."

"Coming," he said, dashing off the bed and hoping up to his favorite seat.

As the three of them walked bak tot he elevator, Gardevoir said, _"Is there not some way to do what I do with Aura? Psychic powers you may lack. Aura powers you do _not_."_ Ash sighed.

"You know, I'm not sure," he said. Ember wasn't there yet so he leaned against the wall to wait. "I've told you about the time I met Sir Aaron's Lucario, right?"

"I remember that," said Pikachu. Gardevoir nodded.

"Well, Aaron's Lucario, and definitely Aaron too, were able to sense not only the Aura of living things, but the Aura coming off of the nonliving as well. Like a chair or whatever." Ash stretched out his hand. "I couldn't be sure, but if you can sense it then you can probably manipulate it. Then again, if its anything like psychic power then it should be my Aura that I'm manipulating, not the Aura of other things. Ahhhh, too confusing." He rubbed his hands through his hair, making it unkempt.

"_So why not try it?"_ asked Gardevoir. Ash shook his head.

"I have actually. Problem is, I can't sense the Aura from nonliving things. Maybe I'm just not good enough to do it, but as far as I know from everyone I've talked to about it, it's become a lost art. I mean Sir Aaron was around over a thousand years ago. Who knows when it could have been lost?"

"_Just keep practicing,"_ said Gardevoir. _"Like you have me always practicing..."_

Just down the hall around a corner, Ember stood, listening intently. Just what impossible experiences has Ash actually been through? Her younger brother never ceased to interest and amaze her. Her father was ranked a Knight, a high ranking to begin with, and he was a Knight Master? How many Knight Masters had she even met in her life? Two? Maybe three? They were always out doing the most important missions, usually incredibly dangerous as well. They also only reported directly to the Queen. And he was only _twenty!_ Such a feat was unprecedented. She herself had just risen to the rank of Seer two years ago, when she was his age, but that rank was in a completely different branch of Aura abilities. It was more a specialist than anything.

"Ember, come on, what are you waiting for?" called Ash. He had just noticed a piece of her clothing around the corner. She jumped and hurried to the elevator.

"Sorry, I was just making sure I had everything I needed," she said quickly. "I'm ready." Ember was wearing a cloak as well, covering whatever she had changed into from her casual wear.

"Gardevoir, return," Ash said, recalling Gardevoir so she would rest during the trip. "Let's go."

XxxxX

Scott stood in the center of the main stadium his tournament had been held in. It was noon of the day after the tournament had come to a crashing finale. Although he had no idea what was going on when the attack was happening, he had helped coordinate the evacuation outside so that people didn't get jammed around the stadium. He had since been in contact with Ash about what had happened who explained it in a nutshell. It was essentially a terrorist attack. In all of Scott's life he had never experienced something like that before.

It would take months of work to make the stadium useable again. The destruction was steady throughout the entire thing. Still, he wasn't too upset. There had been a lot of fantastic battles in the stadium and there were still the other smaller ones that could easily be used for anything. Sighing, he looked at his watch.

12:08pm

Bzzz Bzzz. Bzzz Bzzz. Scott reached into his pocket and flipped out his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Scott, it's Ash," came the voice through the phone.

"Ash? I didn't recognize the number," said Scott, dusting off an upturned piece of rock and taking a seat. "What's up?"

"I wanted to let you know that I'm not in Element anymore. I left last night in the late evening and I'm not sure when I'll be back. I'm actually almost in Kanto now."

"Kanto? Did you take a jet there? You've been moving, boy, that's far."

"I've been told we're moving at a leisurely pace too. Anyway as soon as I know when this whole thing will be done I'll let you know. If I'm still in Kanto I'll probably head to Pallet Town and wait to meet up with you there. I'm looking forward to seeing the new Frontier facility."

"It's a modern marvel, Ash. You'll be the envy of the Brains." Scott coughed then said, "Well, maybe not Brandon. I mean he has a flying pyramid so..." He shrugged to himself. Ash laughed.

"Could you just do me a favor?" he asked.

"Of course, what do you need?" Ash hesitated. The small airship that he was in was now passing over land, moving steadily north. His father was sitting up front with the pilot, but everyone else was relaxing in the passenger area. Looking around, he could tell that pretty much everyone around him was listening to his conversation with interest.

"I know you'll likely be seeing Cynthia at some point before she leaves to go back to Sinnoh, but when you do see her do you think you could tell her that I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye and I'll come visit her as soon as I can? Also, let her know that Miranda is staying at the mansion so she should go and spend some time with her before she leaves. She'll know what I'm talking about."

"Sure, Ash," said Scott, "I was actually going to visit Cynthia today. I wanted to talk to her about some ideas I have for the Sinnoh region while she was in the neighborhood."

"Great, thanks Scott. I have to go, so I'll talk to you later," said Ash in thanks.

"No problem, good luck with whatever's come up." Scott hung up.

"Might as well go take care of seeing Cynthia now while I'm close to the hotels," he said to himself, dusting off his pants and heading out of the stadium. He ducked under the warning tape that forbid entry to the stadium and walked to his jeep, which was parked right in front of the main entrance. Within minutes he was making his way down the seventh floor hallway of the hotel building that Cynthia was staying in. He had asked the front desk for Cynthia's room number and to ring up to see if she was there. There was no answer, but the man at the desk had told him that many people don't answer their room phones and she had not checked out of the hotel for that day. The hotels around here were very particular about knowing whether their guests were on the premises or not. It was a safety measure that didn't really bother anyone and sometimes, like now, it was actually pretty useful. Declining to leave her a message at the front desk, he decided to just go knock on her door. No doubt she was engrossed in a book.

Reaching room 723 he knocked and waited. No answer. He knocked again, harder this time. Always a chance she hadn't heard the door.

"Cynthia? You around? It's Scott!" he called through the door, leaning against it. The latch gave easily and the door swung wide open. It was unlocked and not properly closed. "Cynthia?" Scott called again, entering the room slowly. Something was not quite right. The room was pretty small compared to the rooms the other Champions had taken. Cynthia wasn't the kind of person who required the luxurious to survive. He walked over to the bedroom door and peeked inside. The bed was made perfectly by room service, however there were random things on the bed. Most prominent were six pokeballs, all showing signs that they had Pokemon in them.

Scott picked up the room phone and dialed the front desk.

"Front desk, how can I assist you?"

"Hello, I was talking to you earlier. I was wondering, have any cleaning staff come to room 723 yet?" Scott asked.

"No sir, the seventh floor is scheduled to be maintained at two in the afternoon," said the man. Scott's face darkened.

"And you're certain Cynthia Shirona hasn't gone out of the building today?"

"Why no, Sir. Like I said before I would have surely recognized her leaving. She came back to the hotel last night and has yet to check out. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, yes it's fine. She must have gone for a stroll in the building. Thank you very much for your help."

"Of course. Have a pleasant day."

Scott hung up the phone and pulled out his cell, going to the recent calls.

Miles away in Kanto a passenger in a small airship answered his phone.

"Hello? Ash? Yeah he's here, one sec." The man tuned to Ash. "Ash, it's that guy you called earlier. He says it's urgent." Ash looked around.

"Ah, thanks Kevin," he said, taking the phone. "Scott? What's up?"

"I think Cynthia's missing, Ash."

"What are you talking about?" said Ash sharply. Everyone around him looked up at the tone of his voice. Someone nudged Ember who looked around. She had been listening to music.

"I'm in her hotel room right now. It was left unlocked. All of her Pokemon are here in their pokeballs and she isn't here, but the front desk said that she came back last night and hasn't left. You know how hotels are in hits city. If they say she hasn't left then she hasn't left."

"That still doesn't mean she's missing, Scott. She must be walking around in the building. They are pretty big," said Ash, leaning back in his seat. "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" There was no way in his mind that someone as strong as Cynthia would just go missing.

"Her bed is perfectly made but there's stuff on it and the cleaning service hasn't been here today. She didn't sleep in that bed, Ash."

"Look, why don't you see if you can get some of the staff together and figure out who saw her last. Let me know when you find her alright? I'm sure she's just off somewhere reading a book." Ash hung up, not waiting for Scott to respond. What was with him, acting like that? He was being pretty unreasonable. Still, he knew that Scott wouldn't just say something that serious unless he meant it...

"Mind if I hold onto this for a bit, Kevin?" Ash said to his neighbor, waving the phone.

"Sure, not like you're going anywhere with it," he said with shrug. Ash managed a small laugh. He sat there for several minutes not really thinking about anything, unease lingering in the back of his mind. He was waiting for the call from Scott telling him that Cynthia was actually just walking around the hotel. As the minutes ticked by he couldn't help feeling annoyed.

_'Come on, Scott, how difficult is it to find someone as noticeable as Cynthia.'_

"Hey Ash, come here," said Ember walking up to him. Ash looked up. "Don't give me that look, come get a drink with your elder sister."

"A drink?" he said, following her to the small area where there were drinks and snacks. They had been in the air all night, after all. Ember grabbed him a soda and took one for herself. Ah...a drink.

"What's going on? Is Miranda okay?" she asked after taking a swig from the can.

"It's not Miranda. Cynthia's apparently missing. Scott can't find her."

"Friend of yours?" asked Ember, curious.

"You've never heard of Cynthia Shirona?" said Ash, raising his eyebrows. Ember blinked in surprise.

"The Champion? Of course I have, she's one of the greatest female trainers ever. You were talking about her?"

"Yeah, we're um, friends," said Ash after a second. He felt a twinge in his chest. Grimacing he glanced at Ember who was watching his face carefully. "What does that matter?"

"I mean I guess it doesn't," said Ember after a second, shaking her head slightly. "But if she really is missing then so what? She can definitely take care of herself." Ash looked down.

"Doesn't mean I can't worry about her," he muttered. He took a swig from his can only to come face to face with Ember. She looked him straight in the eye, searching for something. Ash just stood still. After a minute Ember sighed and leaned against a wall.

"You're a complicated man, Ash Ketchum."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash said defensively. Ember was spared from answering by the phone in Ash's pocket ringing. Proving to Ember that he wasn't being panicky he calmly fished for the cell and flipped it open.

"So, where was she?" Ash asked Scott.

"Nowhere. She's completely gone, Ash." Ash traded looks with Ember. Not surrounded by talking Guardian members, Ember could easily hear Scott on the phone.

"You can't be serious," said Ash softly.

"I told management and they looked for her on the security cameras in the building. Unfortunately she isn't here." Ash heard him opening a door and walking into wind. "The last time she was seen on camera was last night, when a worker of the hotel let her onto the roof. The roof is off limits to everyone, but for whatever reason, Cynthia went up there."

"So maybe she went onto the roof to get some fresh air and just accidentally fell asleep there," said Ember, more to say something reassuring than useful.

Scott looked at the phone. "Who is that, Ash?"

"That's Ember. She's uhh, my sister. It's complicated so don't think about it for now," he added before Scott could ask anything.

"Right, well that was my last hope, but unfortunately I'm on the roof right now with one of the security guards and there's nothing here. The only way off the roof other than the door is... well the side."

"She obviously didn't jump, Scott," said Ash agitatedly, tapping a finger on his soda can.

"I know that Ash, but I'm certain about this: she's completely vanished."

XxxxX

Cynthia moaned softly. She had a massive headache. Opening her eyes slowly, she was met with daylight and a moving landscape. She was laying in the back seat of a vehicle that had an open top. The sky above her was crystal clear and perfect blue. Her body was the weakest she had ever felt it. Moving her head to the side, Cynthia now faced the front of the vehicle. Nier was driving, humming to himself, apparently unaware that she had woken up. There was also someone else in the passenger seat but she couldn't make out his face. It was this person who noticed.

"Nier, our package is awake." Nier looked over at Cynthia, who was having a difficult time bringing his face into focus. What was wrong with her?

"Ah good morning," he said. "Or should I say good afternoon? Either way, good day to you, dear Champion." Cynthia tried to speak but couldn't get any words out. "Ah you'll have to forgive me, but you've got a very strong concoction of drugs running around in your system so don't bother trying to do, well, anything." Looking at his companion he said, "Put her to sleep for me? I'm driving."

"Right, right," the man said. "Sorry Princess, but we're almost there." He removed the cloth from the now unconscious Cynthia's face and sat forward again. "I thought that mixture of yours was supposed to be enough to knock a legendary Pokemon out for days."

"It is that strong," said Nier, also intrigued at the girl's resistance. "Anyway, we're almost there. Call her, would you?"

"Right, right."

XxxxX

The Guardian's airship landed at a small airfield a few miles outside of Rota. A car pulled up near the airship and an elderly woman stepped out wearing an old fashioned dress. She watched as a few dozen Guardians stepped out of the airship, followed by two people she recognized instantly, Ember and Gabriel Meres. Suddenly one of the ones she thought she might know ran over to her, waving.

"Jenny! Hey!" The young man stopped in front of her with a broad smile. "Don't you recognize me? It's Ash."

"My God, Ash Ketchum, it is you!" said Jenny shocked by his change in appearance. "You've grown like a weed." She hugged him tightly then let go. "Her Majesty is eager to see you again. The rest of the court is the same."

"That's great. It's been a long time," he said, lost in memories of when he was here five years ago.

"And hello to you two, Ember, Gabriel," she said as the others go there, hugging them both in turn.

"Hello, Jenny," said the Commander. "Might we continue this at the Palace?"

"Of course, of course. I've got a bus here that can fit all of you. It can't go into the town but it'll drop us all off at the edge."

"Great, let's load up," called Ember waving to the Guardians. Everyone followed Jenny to the said bus, piling in one after the other. As the bus started off, Jenny said,

"So are all of these people here to take their test?"

"That's right," said the Commander. He looked at Ash and Ember. Ember was paying attention but Ash was looking out of the window. "I figured since the kids were summoned we might as well take the trainees who were ready."

"I remember that test," said Ember, scratching her head. "It wasn't hard."

"That's because you were a prodigy," said her father. "But I wonder if you would say that now? The test has gotten much harder since the year you took it."

"What's this test you guys are talking about?" asked Ash, finally succumbing to his own curiosity.

"How could you not know what the test is?" said Ember. Jenny however, was nodding.

"That's right, you never took it did you," she said, thinking back.

"I thought you were an Aura Guardian," said Gabriel, eyeing his son. Ash looked back.

"I am, they never mentioned it to me," he said evenly. He was becoming much more familiar with Ember after the past day, but his father was a completely different story. Ember looked at the two of them nervously. This was the closest they had been to each other since the first night they met.

"Anyway," she interrupted, "Jenny, do you know why we've been summoned? There wasn't anything in the message last night."

"As a matter of fact I don't," she admitted. The bus rolled to a stop right outside the main gate into the city. They could see the castle in the distance. "Come on, lets get moving to the Palace. I've got carriages waiting for us nearby."

They all rode to the castle in moderate silence. Ash and Gabriel said nothing, while Jenny asked a fountain of questions about mutual friends that they had on Element. Pikachu, who had been asleep for most of the ride was now getting his head scratched by Jenny. Ash looked around at the familiar town. It hadn't changed a bit since he was last there. As they began to cross the bridge, Ash was forced to cover his eyes. The glare of the sun on the water was very bright. As soon as they came to a stop, he hopped out of the carriage. He reached under his cloak and pulled out Lucario's pokeball.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said, releasing Lucario and replacing the pokeball.

"Indeed," he said, jumping up on the wall of the bridge. "I have always felt, right, when I am here. Actually, since teaming up with you I feel like I've been somewhat connected with this area."

"It's probably the Tree of Beginning," said Ash softly, not wanting others to hear. "When Sir Aaron's Lucario and I transferred all of our Aura power to Mew he used it to completely restore the Tree to full health. You're probably feeling my half of the mixed Aura that Lucario and I created. Not to mention what happened here five years ago." Ash sighed. "If only I knew a fraction of what I do now, back then. I might have been able to save Lucario from sacrificing himself."

"Who sacrificed himself?" asked Ember, coming over to him with Pikachu. All the other Guardians and Jenny were already well on their way through the gates.

"An old friend," said Ash, waving it aside. He stuck out his arm and Pikachu jumped out of Embers hold, running up it and settling on his shoulder like usual.

"Cryptic as always, Ash," said Ember, shaking her head. "I'll figure you out one of these days. With or without your help. Now come on, Queen Ilene is waiting remember?"

"Yeah, let's go see why we've been summoned," said Ash.

"You probably did something wrong."

"You're a really harsh sister you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

XxxxX

Cynthia slowly came back to consciousness. At first she thought her eyes were closed, but after blinking a number of times she realized that she was in pitch dark. Blinking through the oppressing darkness, Cynthia became aware that she couldn't move her arms and legs. She was against a cold wall, wrists and ankles bound by what felt like metal braces.

"What's going on?"

Her voice bounced off the walls, making it louder than she meant to. What had Nier done to her? Where was he? Suddenly she was hit by a wave of dizziness and nausea. If she hadn't been chained to the wall then she definitely would have fallen over. The feeling passed after a minute.

"Nier!" she shouted into the darkness. "Show yourself! Let me go!" Her voice reverberated in the room and beyond, dying off into silence. "Nier!" Nothing. The weight of the dark pressed in on her, making her breath come in shorter and sharper. She was scared. More scared than she ever had been in her entire life.

"How is this happening... where am I?" she said aloud, attempting to break the silence. She pulled at her restraints to no avail. Minutes passed by in the darkness. Cynthia had lost all sense of time. The dark of the room shut out everything but the ragged sound of her breath and the cold of the wall at her back.

"No biggie," she said to herself forced calm. "It's just like being trapped in a ruin. Only this time I'm locked up."

"Wait, my ring!" The trick her mother had taught her when she was a little girl. She could bring light to the stone in her ring if she concentrated hard enough, as she had done earlier. That ring had saved her more times than she could count. Her hand moved slightly and she felt for her ring, but it wasn't there. Nier must have removed it.

"My mother gave me that ring you bastard," Cynthia snarled, anger boiling away any fear she had. She struggled at the restraints again, fiercely. She cried out in pain as the right cuff bit into her skin, drawing blood. It was a light cut, but the wound stung sharply. That was when she realized that her left cuff had moved a bit. It seemed that the wall the metal was embedded in was crumbling away somewhat. Biting her lip in fear of getting cut again, she pushed away from the wall with her wrist while using her elbow as leverage. It didn't budge; it would need more strength.

"This is...hopeless." Her legs were out of energy. It was all she could to not collapse. But if she did she would be practically hanging from the wrist cuffs, which would certainly hurt more than anything. She thought back to Element City, wherever it was. It was still hard to believe that she had just been fighting a huge battle with Ash and Miranda. They had gone back to that mansion together, while she herself had gone back to her hotel. The girl was probably getting some quality close time with Ash at this very moment. She shook her head at the thought.

"And what do I care if they do. They're practically dating aren't they?" she said to herself heatedly. "What do you care, Miranda's your friend you should be happy. God dammit why do I care so much!"

Filled with momentary adrenaline, using all her strength she wrenched the left cuff straight out of the wall, small pieces of rock falling to the ground. Her left arm hung at her side, the metal brace much heavier than it felt on the wall. Hoping she didn't collapse from exhaustion, Cynthia felt along her right arm to find the metal cuff. It was rough from age. She lifted the left cuff and slammed it against the right one. It clanged loudly enough to hurt her ears. Gritting her teeth in determination she began to hammer away at the right cuff. Just like a ruin indeed.

"I wonder if anyone knows I'm gone?" Pain suddenly made her cry out. She had accidentally hit her arm. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head to rid it of distracting thoughts and raised the cuff again.

XxxxX

Ash and Ember sat in a waiting room while Queen Ilene was getting ready to see them. Though it was a small room, it was not lacking in gaudy furniture and other kingly looking items. Oblivious to the splendor, Ash's Lucario stood by the door, spinning his bone cane for a lack of something to do.

"Relax, you're too tense. The Queen won't bite your head off," he said, letting the cane slap the ground in front of Ember lightly. She looked up.

"Keen of you to notice," she said squeezing her hands slightly.

"Wait, really?" said Ash looking at Ember in surprise. "You'll forgive me for saying so but you seemed a bit too hardcore to ever be nervous." Ember rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well now you know. I'm actually a regular girl."

"Hardly," said Lucario, teeth flashing in a grin. Ash laughed and put a hand on Ember's shoulder before she hit him.

"So what's bothering you?" he asked. Ember let her annoyance go.

"I dunno, I mean how often do people get summoned by the Queen for something? And it's not like we're here to see the Queen of Rota. We're here to see the Queen of Aura."

Ash frowned. She had a point. Though the Queen of Rota had always been noted for her grace and kindness, to the Guardians she was the Queen of Aura. A Queen who existed under a very different mindset. She was responsible for all Aura Guardians around the world. They all answered to her rule without fail. When he first met Queen Ilene while traveling with Brock, May, and Max, it had been as the Queen of Rota. The second time however was a very different experience. Who could really say what was going to happen.

Almost as if following his train of thought, Jenny opened the door and poked her head in.

"She's ready, come on."

They walked down the main isle of the throne room. Jenny in the lead followed by Ash and Ember, side by side. Lucario walked at Ash's back left, as his partner. The only other person in the room apart from them and guards was Queen Ilene, who sat in her throne above them, watching them get closer. When they reached the bottom of the steps, they stopped.

"I present, Knight Master Ash Ketchum, his partner Malice, and Reader Ember Meres," said Jenny. Ash and Lucario both traded looks at the name Malice. Ember glanced at them in curiosity. She had never heard him call his Lucario that name before. She filed the note under mysteries of Ash and decided to ask about it afterwards. All three of them fell to one knee with their heads bowed.

"Thank you Jenny," came the imperious voice from in front of them. "That will be all. I will speak to them alone." Ember tensed perceptibly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

There was a shuffling as everyone but the Queen left the room and took stations outside. Then silence. The soft shuffle of silk slippers got closer, however none of the three looked up. It was rude to raise your head unless permitted.

"You can look up you know." Ash raised his head only to jump back slightly, landing on his butt. Ember and Lucario looked at him fall then looked up. Standing directly in front of them, the Queen looked identical to how she was when he had first met her. All blond curls and beauty. Ilene was shaking her head in amusement. "Is that really a proper way to greet a Queen?" Ash jumped to his feet, but before he could say anything Ilene was laughing happily. Ash finally managed a smile, seeing she was joking. Ember was completely confused.

"Your Majesty, it is good to see you again," said Ash. "I hope you've been well."

"I have, thank you." She cupped his face in her hands affectionately. "You really are a sight Ash, I'm just floored by how much you have grown. You used to be shorter than me by far. The same goes to you, Ember Meres," she added, drawing away and looking at Ember with a smile. Ember stood straight up at attention. "What's wrong?"

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, you're a Queen," said Ember tightly. Ilene sighed.

"I know, it tends to get in the way at times." she replied. She turned and walked up a few of the steps to the throne then turned and sat. "I hope everything has been well lately at home?" Ember was somewhat thrown off. This was not the Queen she was used to. She looked at Ash who shrugged.

"Up until recently everything's been fairly standard," said Ember.

"I've had reports of Korinek's movements. I pray that the Guardians that were injured recover soon," said Ilene, closing her eyes briefly. Ash was always touched by how much Queen Ilene cared for the Guardians, no matter where they were. "What else has been happening? Anything significant in your life?"

"I mean I got a brother," said Ember shortly, jerking her thumb at Ash. Ash waved his fingers when Ilene looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Turns out we're actually siblings," said Ash, again shrugging. "Who would have thought right?"

"You don't look anything alike," Ilene said in wonder, eyes moving between the two of them. Looking at Ash she said, "Does that mean you're Gabriel's son?"

"Unfortunately, yeah," said Ash with a shrug. Ilene frowned.

"Well, I obviously don't know the circumstances of the situation but I hope that it will work out for the best."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Ash softly. Ilene made her way back up the stairs to the throne.

"Thing's here are not all well as they may seem," she said, her back to them. "The others are moving again."

"The others?" said Ember confused.

"You can't be serious," said Ash sharply. "But five years ago we-"

"It's not the same thing, Ash," said Ilene, cutting him off. "The group we were dealing with then was a rogue group. True, it brought the others into our view, but they were not directly involved. In any case, it's nothing like what happened five years ago, and unfortunately it's hitting a little close to home."

"What do you mean?" Ilene sat in the throne heavily.

"I believe they are trying to overthrow the current Monarchy."

"You can't be serious." Ember couldn't help herself. "Isn't that madness? What group could possibly have the ability to do such a thing?"

"I know you aren't familiar with them, but trust me they aren't a typical group of people," said Ash.

"Yes," said Ilene. "You see hundreds of years ago the Queen of the time gave birth to two children, a boy then a girl, both to different fathers who were the two strongest Aura Guardians in the kingdom. Because of tradition, even though the boy was born first, his sister was chosen to be raised to the throne instead of him. While I'm sure the siblings had no issue with this, the father of the boy fought the tradition in anger to no avail. I'm sure it was for personal gain." The Queen shifted in her seat to a more comfortable position and continued.

"Enraged at the kingdom for siding with the girl, the man took his son and left the kingdom, never to be seen again. However, he was still one of the most powerful Aura Guardians of the time. He secretly started a sect of Aura Guardians who were loyal to his son, with the intent of eventually retaking the throne. To this day they still exist, and apparently so does the royal lineage. You have a question?" she said to Ember.

"Sorry, I can't believe I've never heard about them. I'm pretty well versed in Guardian history," said Ember.

"Well, considering they have been keeping to themselves for centuries it's become something on a need-to-know basis."

"And Ash?" Ember posed.

"I needed to know," he said shortly. Oh yeah, they would be chatting later.

Queen Ilene looked down at Ember and explained, "There were times when more radical Guardians led the group, but during the past hundred and fifty years cooler heads have prevailed. It is not as if they are an evil group of some sort. They are founded on a dislike of the royal tradition of only permitting women to sit the throne. I do not doubt that any descendent they may have of the royal bloodline has just as much claim to the throne as I do. However..." The Queen smiled, white teeth flashing, "I _am_ the Queen."

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, seeing as how you _are_ the Queen, as you rightly say, shouldn't you be worried about the continuing the bloodline?" asked Ash blandly. Ember was speechless with embarrassment by her idiot brother's comments but Ilene just laughed.

"Oh, Ash are you really worried about me having kids?" she asked with a smile. "Or were you by chance offering yourself as a solution..." Ash went beet red and quickly looked at the floor. He had played with fire and had rightly been burned. "I'm kidding Ash, you just sounded so much like Jenny I had to have a go. Besides you shouldn't worry about such things. Anyway-" The change in her tone got all of their attention. "We have been talking privately long enough. This wasn't even the entire reason I officially summoned you both. Don't worry," she said to Ash, before he could say anything. "There will be a meeting soon about this situation, as well as the one regarding Vince Korinek. We must come together and plan."

"Now, it is time for me to be a Queen. We will certainly talk more later if we can." The three stood at attention. Ilene clapped her hands loudly and everyone reentered the room, though this time there were far more people than before. Once there was no more movement, Queen Ilene said, "Is everything prepared?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Jenny.

"Then let us begin. Ember Meres, step forward." Ember, nerves fully returned at the Queen's sudden change of character, walked to the foot of the steps. "You are summoned here today because you have been officially recommended to walk the Path of the Seer." Ember's mouth dropped open for half a second before she closed it in a hurry. Ash was taken aback. Despite his lack of knowledge of most Aura Guardian practices, this particular test was something he had been told about by one of the older members of court. The Path of the Seer was a test taken by only the most skilled in sensory Aura arts. It could only be officially offered by the Queen after having gotten a recommendation from the Elders. They must have been keeping a close eye on her. This could only mean that Ember was far stronger than he could ever be when it came to those particular skills. And he wasn't bad at them.

"Seer Ember Meres, do you accept? Will you walk the Path of the Seer?"

"Y-yes!" she stammered. "Thank you so much!" She bowed deeply and returned to Ash's side. He could see her eyes were over bright. He felt really good for her. There really was no greater honor she could receive from the Queen.

"Ash Ketchum, step forward."

Ash took the same position that Ember did. Lucario stayed with Ember, putting a supportive hand on her back. She stood a bit straighter.

"Your Majesty, I am yours to command," said Ash with a bow. For a moment he thought he saw Queen Ilene's mouth twitch in the ghost of a smile.

"Ash Ketchum, five years ago you earned the title of Knight Master through your service, not to the Crown, but to the world. At the young age of fifteen, you became the youngest knighted Aura Guardian in a millennium." Ash could feel Ember's eyes boring in to his back. He was definitely going to hear about this later. Queen Ilene continued, "At that time, after a discussion, we came to the decision to withhold the badges of your position until you became an adult... and stopped growing," she added with a smile. "And so, at this time, I hereby present you with your uniform," she waved to one servant who brought forward a wrapped parcel, "and a personal gift." Ah took the clothing parcel and hefted it, surprised by its weight. It was easily the weight of a small child. He turned and tossed it to Lucario, who caught it. The other servant brought him a small metal rod, almost identical to the one he was currently wearing. He took the new rod and spun it in his hands before channeling his aura into it. It instantly extended to a staff a foot shorter than he was. What drew his eye was a small round jewel that capped one of the ends that he hadn't noticed earlier.

"Your Majesty, this... I couldn't possibly accept this," said Ash holding out the staff. Queen Ilene shook her head.

"It's not about accepting, Ash Ketchum. It's yours. Use it well." Ash sighed inwardly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

XxxxX

Cynthia collapsed to the ground. She had finally broken free of her right foot cuff. Now she sat with her left side leaning against the wall, knees to her chest, and left ankle still bound. It was the first time since she regained consciousness hours ago that she had been able to rest. She was hungry and even more thirsty, but that was the least of her worries now. If she couldn't free herself there was no guarantee that she would make it out of her prison alive. Her hands, numb from exhaustion and pain felt their way around the final cuff. It was identical to the other one she had just broken, however completely undamaged. She swung her arm behind her back to strike the cuff when her weak body gave out, causing her to fall backwards onto the hard stone floor.

"Ouch," she said, her hands rubbing the back of her head. They bumped something that made a light clink. Feeling around she found what she had nudged: a small piece of metal. To an average person this might have been as good as a tooth pick. To Cynthia however...

She rolled herself upright and leaned forward, fingers making out the small keyhole in the cuff. She expertly stuck the piece of metal in the hole, twisting and jiggling carefully until- clack!- the cuff fell off. Grinning, she quickly used the piece of metal to take the now bracelet like cuffs off of her wrists. They were heavy, and the right one still was cutting into her skin. Completely free of the cuffs and the wall, Cynthia lay down carefully on the floor, laughing at her own success. Her voice sounded deranged to her own ears. Perhaps she was becoming a little deranged. Being in the complete dark for so long was not something people could normally handle.

When Cynthia came to, her body was not happy. After all the rough treatment she had put it through earlier her arms, legs, and back were all permeated by a dull ache. Worst of all, her right hand was partially covered in dried blood. Groaning she rose to a sitting position. It seemed while she was unconscious her wrist had stopped bleeding. Now it was time to get out if this place.

"I need to find something to help me see," she said, talking to herself. Her hands began sweeping around the floor as she shuffled around on her knees. Within seconds she found something long and hard. Feeling it up and down she realized with horror that it was a human leg bone. Desperation made her hold onto it, as much as she wanted to throw it as far away as she could. Where one bone was, others surely were.

"Do you honestly think I'll let that happen to me, Nier?" said Cynthia, moving carefully to a wall and standing up. "I'm not weak." Eyes still closed, she began to walk around the room; left hand on the wall, right hand tapping the ground with the bone. As long as she kept to a wall and moved forward she would find her way to any door, and in time, escape any type of maze. First thing was first, she had to get out of this room. The room was small, as she expected, and she reached the door in no time. It was made of old vertical iron bars.

"This is a jail cell... Am I in a dungeon?"

The door swung open soundlessly. Outside the room, she swung the bone in a wide arc and it connected with something hard at her right. Feeling around she felt solid wall. It appeared she was at the end of a hallway. She moved down the hall occasionally feeling the bars of other jail cell doors. There were no sounds of life. Wherever she was had been abandoned a long time ago. Rounding a corner, the side of her shirt caught on something pointy, pulling at her shirt. Stopping before it ripped, she investigated the thing on the wall. It was a torch holder, complete with torch. Of course it wasn't lit and she didn't have anything to light it with...

Cynthia dropped the bone and sank to the floor. How could she have been so stupid? She reached into the sole inside pocket of her shirt and pulled out the lighter the guy at the hotel had given her. It was still completely full of lighter fluid. She lit it. The soft orange glow was extremely bright to her eyes, so accustomed to the dark. Wincing she looked around. She was at an intersection of two hallways that made a T. At the very top of the T there was an opening into another room.

Taking the torch out of the holder, Cynthia walked into the room, careful not to move too fast, lest the lighter got blown out. It seemed to be a place for whoever would have been in charge of this section of the jail. There were very old desks and tables. She sat at one of them and quickly used her small piece of metal to tear up her outer jacket, leaving her with her sleeveless black shirt. She did her best to tie the cloth around the torch, then lit it on fire. It caught decently, illuminating the room greatly. She put the lighter back in her pocket.

"Now we're on fire," she said, laughing at her own pun. Suddenly the ground seemed to pitch sideways. Cynthia fell into one of the desks, the old wood unable to take any weight collapsed into pieces. Her torch fell out of her hands and onto the pile of wood, the dry pieces catching almost instantly. She pulled herself out of the burning wreckage, grabbing the torch before she lost it. Hunger and thirst bit at her insides. She felt more ill than she ever had. She hadn't had anything to eat since before the attack at the stadium, and that felt like days ago. Perhaps it had been? It wasn't like she knew how much time had gone by. Unsure of what to do, she sat against a far wall, taking in the warmth the now large fire was throwing out. The entire desk was burning nicely. At least she wasn't in the dark again. And it was warm too...

Time passed. Drifting in and out of consciousness, Cynthia began hearing footsteps. They were coming from the hall leading deeper into the jail. Unable to move she watched as a tall man entered the room, shielding his face from the heat of the flames. Spotting Cynthia, he walked over to her.

"Who are you? Where am..." but Cynthia could barely speak. She was so weak. A rough hand was pressed against her forehead.

"High fever, dehydration too by the looks of it. This is too much, even for them," said the man. Cynthia couldn't make out his face because the fire was at his back. She moved her right arm into her lap and the man looked at it. He hissed when he saw her wrist. "This is infected. God knows what dangerous bacteria live down here." He pulled off his backpack and opened it pulling out a number of things. "Here, eat this while I take care of your arm." Cynthia grabbed at the bread and nearly choked when she tried to eat it too fast. The man passed her a bottle of water. She drank the water, watching as he cleaned her wrist from a first aid kit. Because of the dark she hadn't realized how bad her cut had gotten. The man pulled out a syringe.

"I'll have to give you a shot. It's a strong medicine and will take care of anything you may have gotten." Cynthia nodded, closing her eyes. She felt a sting as the needle entered her arm but it was over in seconds. "I have to leave you. I'm sorry, this was the best I could do." He stood up.

"No," said Cynthia feeling herself slip away. He must have given her a sedative as well. "Don't go. Help me..."

"I'm sorry. Don't forget the things your mother taught you." Cynthia slid to the floor, unconscious. The man knelt at her side, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I hope you can forgive me... I know you can get through this. Believe in yourself, Cynthia, my dear daughter."


	16. Old Friends, New Enemies

Miranda sat in the Guardian dining room, pushing her carrots across her plate with a fork. The place was alight with cheerful banter, laughter, and the general consumption of food. Originally hoping to spend time with Ash today, last night had destroyed her plans.

"Sorry Miranda," Ash had said, as the group gathered in the entrance hall. "I can't ignore a summons. I am an Aura Guardian after all."

"Don't worry about it," she said fixing his hair, which had somehow become completely messed up since she left him a few minutes ago in the elevator. Finishing, she moved close to him, sliding her arms under his cloak and around his body.

"Miranda-"

"I'm sorry," she said into his shirt. "I just feel like I'm never going to see you again. It's stupid right?" Ash let out a small breath and ruffled her hair. She backed away, putting her hands on her head to block him. Her eyes were still over bright.

"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere dummy." Miranda shook her head as if to rid it of unpleasant thoughts.

"Can we go somewhere when you get back? Just you and me," she said softly so no one else would hear.

"No Cynthia?" Ash asked jokingly. Miranda pouted angrily.

"No Cynthia."

"Sure," she said now, grumpily, "No Cynthia, but no Ash too." she flicked a carrot off of her place and it soared off the table, rolling away.

"Man, what's gotten you all down?"

Miranda looked up to see Sonia standing beside her with a plate of food.

"Scootch over, girl, let me join you." Miranda slid down the table. She was the only one at her particular table. Anyone else who had come close steered clear of the gloom. "Now what's got you down."

"Wanted to spend time with Ash and Ember, but they're gone," Miranda mumbled. Sonia was digging into her potatoes. Swallowing she said,

"Yeah the energy level here with them around did seem to be a lot higher, but it's not like there isn't anything to do here. Plus you aren't a prisoner." Sonia patted the younger girl on the shoulder. "Look, why don't you go outside for a while and have fun in the city. Just make sure you aren't out by yourself."

"I haven't seen Dawn or May in a while actually. I wonder if they are still on the island?" Miranda said.

"There you go," said Sonia, tucking back into her food. She waved sideways as Miranda took her tray to the drop off, and left the dining area.

Though she had only been in the Mansion for a day, she was already pretty familiar with the first few floors. Within a few minutes she was stepping off the elevator to her floor and walking to her room. As she entered her room she found all of her Pokemon asleep at various places around the room. She smiled at the sight. She wouldn't need to wake them for a short outing. Being careful not to make any sound, Miranda stripped off everything she was wearing and fished for something cute out of her closet. She decided on a light dress that she had bought during the tournament.

Smiling to herself, Miranda put on her underwear and bra, then slipped into the dress. It came down to her ankles, covering her leg tattoos, however it was sleeveless and came down to where her breasts were on the front and back. She looked in a mirror. Her long dark hair would easily cover the two tattoos showing on her back and neck, however the ones on her arms were a stark contrast against her skin and the dress. Rummaging back in the closet, she pulled out a thin cardigan to wear. Perfect.

"I'll be back a little later, don't worry," she whispered softly to her Pokemon as she closed the door to her room again. Heading back to the first floor, Miranda was almost outside. Now all she had to do was figure out how to meet up with Dawn and May. Not paying attention, she bumped into someone, falling over.

"Sorry," she said quickly to the Guardian, but he was already gone, apparently in a hurry.

"Head in the clouds again?" came a voice from her side. Miranda looked around to find Nel leaning against a statue, watching her. Miranda stood up quickly.

"What do you mean again?" she said defensively. Nel walked up to her, shaking her head.

"Miss Eon, anyone who looked at you for more than a few seconds would agree that you have your head in the clouds. Regularly," she added. She looked Miranda up and down. "You look cute, going somewhere?"

"Just out," said Miranda, determined to not let this woman get the better of her. Nel raised her eyebrows.

"With no Pokemon and no bodyguard?" Miranda folded her arms.

"What does it matter to you where I go and how I go there?" she shot. But any hopes in Nel backing down were completely worthless. She really seemed to be enjoying herself now.

"It matters, you brainless girl, because _you_ are _my_ enemy's main target," she said simply. Nel slid an arm around Miranda's shoulders. "So if you want to go play outside, your big sister Nel will take care of you."

"What?" Miranda was panicking.

"Don't be shy, I'm great company. Just ask Ember," Nel said, steering them towards the door.

"But, but, I'm sure you have a lot of really urgent stuff that's way more important than going around with me," Miranda said quickly trying to escape Nel's arm, but it was like trying to wiggle out from under a dragon.

"Oh no, I'd much rather go outside. Let's have a great time."

"Ash, save me..."

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, Ember sat in the War Room along with other Aura Guardians. Many of them were familiar faces from the meeting they had hosted in Element recently. More still were people she had never seen in person, but she recognized as the Commanders of branches across the world. Apparently this meeting had been planed for a long time.

"First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for being here today." Queen Ilene was standing in the center of the room, speaking to everyone. The kinds of meetings where the Queen directly ran the show were very uncommon and at the same time always without fail critically important. "You are all at different levels of understanding regarding the current situations so I will first bring you all to the same place. At present, the Guardians are faced with two major problems. The first," she turned to the computer, "is Vince Korinek." Korinek's face appeared on the main screens.

"As many of you are aware, he is in control of the Pokemon Hunter Group, which now goes by the name of the Hunter Corps." Queen Ilene turned to her left. "Commander Meres, as the head of the Element City Guardian Branch you were directly involved with Korinek recently, and currently have the most up to date information on him. If you would?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," he said, standing at his seat. "Many of you were recently at the meeting I held on Korinek in Element HQ, however here is a recap of everything we now know. Vince Korinek has been working to duplicate the abilities of a young woman named Miranda Eon. She possesses the ability to harmonize with her Pokemon, enhancing their offensive and defensive power to untold levels while providing seemingly limitless amounts of stamina. Once the connection ends the harmonizing results in intense pain for the human for an amount of time depending on how much power was used. It can even result in death." He put up his hands. "For those of you here who think it's all impossible please save your time and breath, because it's real. Korinek recently demonstrated his success. Fifteen of his men decimated my entire branch. Over half of my people are still recovering in hospital beds as we speak. Bottom line he _is_ succeeding." Gabriel sighed, leaning on his hands.

"I have a watertight source that tells me Korinek is tying to evolve humans. Don't ask me why though."

"How watertight are we talking here?" asked one of the Commanders.

"Hunter J," said Ember looking at the man. There was an expected ruffle through the people in the room.

"Now isn't the time to be questioning sources," said the Queen sharply, and everyone shut up. "I have full confidence in Commander Meres and his information. Please continue, Commander."

"My information gives me two points. Korinek is aiming to rewrite the relationship between Pokemon and humans, and Miranda Eon is at the center of it. She is under my protection and living at Element HQ right now."

"Thank you, Commander," said the Queen. Gabriel sat down with a nod. "Now I will tell you about the other problem. As Commanders you should all be aware, there is another line of royalty that has claim to the throne but has maintained their distance and no hostilities in the past hundred years. They have often referred to themselves at the Royal Guardians of Aura. However, five years ago, a rouge group calling themselves the Dark Guardians attempted to... remove the existence of Aura from the world." Queen Ilene broke off, closing her eyes in discomfort. It was not public knowledge among the Guardians, the incident from five years past. Even when it was happening only the people in this room, with small exception, knew what was actually happening. "They of course were stopped." There was a general murmur of agreement. "Largely in part by Ash Ketchum."

"What?" said Gabriel sharply. "But he would have been only fifteen!"

"Watch your tone!" said one of the guards stationed among the Commanders. "Be mindful of who you are speaking-" The Queen silenced him with a wave of her hand.

"I understand your outburst, Commander Meres. Ash Ketchum did something for us that can never be repaid, at great risk to his own life. To that child of five years back, and the man he's become today, I personally am forever in his debt." Queen Ilene smiled. "He's your only son, Gabe. You should be proud of him."

Ember sank into her seat slightly as everyone looked at her and her father. Gabriel simply folded his arms and shook his head.

"I would expect no less from a son of mine." Ember looked down, smiling.

"Really, Dad?"

"I understand that Mr. Ketchum will be a part of our eventual plan, but where is the young man, if I may ask?" said one of the Kanto Commanders. "Wasn't he told to be at this meeting?"

"Ash Ketchum has already received his orders," said the Queen. "As a matter of fact, right now I believe he is visiting an old friend."

* * *

Ash sneezed. He rubbed his nose.

"I wonder, did someone say my name somewhere?" he said. No answer came. He was completely alone, climbing up a rocky ridge. His Pokemon had all been left behind at the palace. He needed to do this alone, and they understood that. Topping the ridge his destination was finally in sight: The Tree of Beginning. It had been nearly five years since he'd last been to this place. Eight with regard to his current destination. Ash felt the jewel at the end of the staff. It was long past time for him to pay a visit. Putting the staff away, he jumped down to the other side of the ridge, making his way to the Tree. Within a few minutes he was at the bottom, making his way through the cave that led to the base of the Tree's trunk. Pieces of rock jutted out in all directions from the outer walls of the area, surrounding the trunk of the tree with crystal and grass. It was a wide open area, filled with wild Pokemon, untouched by people.

Looking around, Ash easily spotted the winding path that he and his friends had taken years ago to find Pikachu, deep within the Tree. As he began making his way up the rock his hand brushed a smooth stone embedded in the rock wall. Suddenly he was enveloped in a vision made of faded colors. He was surrounded by a younger version of himself, Brock, May, and Max. Aaron's Lucario and Kidd Summers were also there. Ash leaned against the wall as he watched the scene play out. They all ran off up the path and out of sight. The time flower closed, the memory fading.

"I'll be there in a bit," said Ash, and he jogged off.

* * *

_Cynthia awoke to the low crackling of fire. She was five years old, her head on the soft pillow of her mother's lap. He mother stroked her head, running fingers through her already long blond hair. They sat on the soft carpet in front of the fireplace. Snow could be seen through the nearby window against the darkening sky, falling softly around the small home._

"_Are you about ready for bed, my little princess?" her mother said. Cynthia shook her head tiredly, pressing further into her mother's lap. She laughed softly, stroking her head all the while. "You know Mommy is going away tomorrow to the ruins again right?" Cynthia nodded. "Well, you're going to have to stay with Grandma while Mommy and Daddy are gone."_

"_Don't want you to go," said Cynthia softly. Her mother sighed._

"_Would you like to hear something my grandma used to tell me?" she asked._

"_Kay," said Cynthia._

"_My grandma used to tell me that no matter where you are, if you are alone and feeling lost all you have to do is close your eyes and listen, then you'll always be able to find your way." Cynthia looked up into her mother's face._

"_Mommy that doesn't even make sense..." Footsteps announced the arrival of her father._

"_Come on Cynthia, it's time for bed."_

"_Don't worry honey, I'll take her in a minute." Her father came over and and ruffled her hair._

"_Then I'll see you in a bit, Claire."_

"_Alright, time for bed, little princess." Cynthia drifted off, her world fading to darkness._

Flickering lights blurred in front of her. Cynthia lifted her head off of a backpack and pushed herself up, leaning back against the cold stone wall. She rubbed her eyes. What an old dream. Fresh bandaging on her wrist drew her attention. The mysterious man must have helped her. He had been saying something when she fell asleep, but she couldn't remember what it was.

Putting a hand to the ground for more support, Cynthia felt the bag. It was the same one the man had brought. She pulled it into her lap, rummaging through it. He had left her everything she could have needed. Food and water; plenty of it. She fished out a piece of sandwich and devoured it in seconds. Of course, the man _had_ still left her alone in this dark dungeon. What were these people forcing her to do?

Her legs were a bit shaky but she was able to stand without too much difficulty. She definitely was not feeling as bad as she was before. She checked the lighter in her pocket. It was about two-thirds full. She would need to be very careful about using it. Bag on back, and lit torch in hand, Cynthia began making her way down the dark corridor the man had come from. Within a minute she was engulfed in darkness again. Only the small light from her torch cutting through the darkness. Every time she came upon a door in the hall she pushed it open, hoping she may find something that might tell her more about where she was. Unfortunately most rooms just had old beds in them, stripped bare to the wire frame.

Every step Cynthia took kept reinforcing the idea that she was in some type of massive dungeon. The lack of bones in this section told her that the one she had woken up in was likely the place for the worst captives. Though she didn't want to admit it, it looked like she had started at the innermost area of the dungeon and would have to steadily work her way up and out.

After an hour of searching on the same level, Cynthia was extremely frustrated. The bottom(?) floor of this facility seemed to have no exit, as well as no size limit. It was more than likely that she was walking in some kind of loop, but there were no distinctive landmarks she could use as a point of reference. Just the same, the darkness was constantly pressing in further and further. Her torch had nearly burnt out twice, due to a lack of fuel, and she had been forced to salvage more of her clothing to keep it alight. A knife she found in the backpack made quick work of the lower half of her top. Not wanting to exit this place naked, Cynthia put finding more cloth to burn high on her priority list.

"This doesn't make sense!" she shouted. "Dammit!" The flame on the torch flickered. It was close to going out again.

"I need to think. If I were a way out, where would I be?" The pointless question only served to further agitate her. Within seconds the torch died. Absolute darkness pressed in on her heavily, forcing her to sit on the ground. Cynthia just didn't know what to do. "What was that you said in my dream mom? If I'm lost all I have to do is listen? How would that help anything..."

She closed her eyes, hugging her knees to her chest. She didn't even bother getting out the lighter to relight the torch. She was tired. Tired of being lost, tired of being alone. Tired of having to sacrifice her decency for light. Time passed slowly. The natural sounds that reverberated in the halls meandered in and out of focus. Her breathing became softer and softer, fading into background of a silent hum. The hum made no sound, but had substance. Cynthia lifted her head, eyes still closed. She could feel it. A distinct vibration coming from everything around her; even her own body. It was so minute, and yet colossal at the same time. She opened her eyes.

And she could see everything. Wherever she turned, the floor, walls, and ceiling were all outlined in a faint bluish tint. Looking down she gave a start of surprise. She glowed even more than the walls. Hands raised in front of her face she stared, fascinated by what she was seeing.

Cynthia blinked and it all disappeared. The darkness had returned just as quickly as it had left. She turned to her right. That way felt somehow, new. She pulled out her lighter and relit the torch, hoping it would hold out for a little while longer. She made her way down the halls, feeling like she was going the right way. It didn't feel like she had been through this section of the dungeon yet. Ten minutes more of walking brought her to a large intersection, darkness in all directions.

Looking around, Cynthia tripped, causing the torch to fly out of her hand and roll across the floor down one of the branches, almost like a small boat of light sailing away from her, leaving pitch black in its wake. Cynthia chased after it quickly, praying it wouldn't die. Suddenly it vanished. She instantly tripped and fell again. Her hands and arms were bruised and scraped. "Ow," she said, wincing as she lifted herself. Something was different. Her voice wasn't loud like it had been in the corridors. She waved both her arms around, trying to touch something, but all she got was empty air. Fumbling in her pocket, she pulled out the lighter and lit it, gasping at what she saw.

Inches in front of her was a big black hole of darkness. The ground was crumbled away, as if the floor had caved in. However she was clearly in a large room; a very large room. She looked down to see her torch, still burning, at least three stories down. There was no way she was going to be able to get it. Looking around at her level the dim light from the lighter illuminated a small staircase going up along the side of the wall into darkness. Finally, a staircase! Careful of the hole in front of her, she made her way to the stairs. At last she was moving up.

The stairs came up along the edge of another large room. Looking around, she immediately found two things she needed badly. Torch hangers with torches in them, and tables with old, dusty cloth on them. Unfortunately, the torches were higher up on the walls than they were deeper in the dungeon. Without something to stand on and light it would only make things more difficult. It was hard enough having one hand occupied by a lighter at any rate.

Struck with an idea, Cynthia grabbed one of the large cloths off of a nearby table and tossed it up on a torch so it was stuck there, suspended a few feet from the floor. Praying she wouldn't set the room on fire she lit one edge and stood back. The flame spread steadily but not too quickly, providing her plenty of warm glowing light.

"Now to get myself some torches," she said, looking around for something to stand on. The table that she had pulled the cloth off of had a number of chairs pushed in under it, so she grabbed one of those and used it to reach a nearby torch. However on getting a second torch the chair completely gave way, collapsing into pieces beneath her. A quick movement saved her face from being badly cut on the torch bracket, but her luck had apparently run out otherwise.

The sharp metal tore straight through her shirt from bottom to top, catching on the middle of her bra before cutting through that as well. Her cheek was cut also cut but her head was enough back that the metal missed her left eye. She landed hard on her behind, eyes closed in pain. Fortunately the chair hadn't broken into any sharp pieces that might have stabbed her otherwise. Upon opening her eyes she was greeted with the sight of her completely exposed chest, shirt and bra hanging open like a flimsy vest. Cynthia quickly pulled the sides of her shirt across her chest, covering herself as best she could. She had the unpleasant sensation that she was being watched.

"I'll kill him," she muttered, thinking of Nier's creepy smile. "As soon as I'm out of here I'll kill him." Glancing around furtively, Cynthia pulled off her shirt and put it on backwards to that the cut part was at her back. It didn't stay very well but it was better than walking around topless. Looking around at the cloth on the tables, she cut herself a long strip and tied it around her torso, securing the shirt.

Now that she had a couple torch sticks, plenty of cloth, and adequate light, she was able to make the makeshift torches. Once that was done, she pulled out the first aid kit from the bag, cleaning and putting a small bandage on her face cut so it wouldn't keep bleeding or get infected.

"This just get's worse and worse," she said, looking down at her clothing. Hoping that she wouldn't lose that much more of it, she pushed the thought out of her head looking around. Now that she had two torches the room was much brighter. Tables littered the huge space. There were broken chairs all over the room. Cynthia was taken aback by it all. It looked like a giant dining room. Walking around, she saw that stairs led up and around the walls in a spiral manner, eventually coming together in the center of the ceiling. It was a very strangely constructed room.

"Finally, it looks like I'm getting somewhere."

* * *

Ash stepped out of the tunnel into daylight. A long thin bridge of stone stretched straight ahead, leading into the next tunnel. Looking down, he only saw clouds and vague shapes of the ground hundreds of feet below. He was quite glad he had no fear of heights.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that Lucario destroyed a bunch of the bridge," said Ash, sitting down to think. His journey up the Tree had been fairly uneventful. For whatever reason, he was not being perceived as a threat like the first time. The orange antibody like things as well as the Legendary Golems were nowhere to be found. This, coupled with the fact that he was quite a bit taller now than when he was thirteen, was taking him no time at all to climb the Tree. Unable to devise a way to cross the huge gap Ash had to resign himself to the idea of trying another path. As long as he was going up it should be fine.

He put his hand on the wall, feeling the Aura of the tree pulsing. Frowning, he focused on the pulse. His destination would be at the pulse's origin. If he just focused a little bit he might just be able to...there! He could feel another path traveling upwards through the pulsing nearby. Backtracking slightly, Ash took a fork and began climbing again. This particular path was very vertical at times, but he managed to make it past the worst parts. Half an hour later Ash could feel the heart of the tree close.

"Almost there. Almost there."

Exiting the tunnel he was in, Ash found himself in a very familiar room. It was the cavernous area in which he had been absorbed by the Tree's antibodies, the last time he was here. He walked over to the very spot he had been swallowed.

"God I remember that being really uncomfortable. But then you saved us all, didn't you, Mew?" Ash looked over his shoulder at the floating cat-like Pokemon. He had been sneakily following Ash for some time now, but he had felt the small Pokemon.

"I didn't want Pikachu to be sad," said Mew in a small voice. Ash turned to face him.

"Yeah, me too. I'm here to visit Aaron and Lucario. Can you take me to them?" Mew nodded, landing on his shoulder, light enveloping them both.

"Wait, I just meant-" They teleported to the heart of the tree. "-point the way. Ahh never mind," said Ash. "Thank's, Mew." Mew zipped away, looping about in the air before speeding into one of the tunnels in the ceiling. Ash Watched him go, then looked around the room. He found his target almost instantly. It was a large piece of crystal, completely smooth on the front, with a time crystal in front of it. Aaron's gloves sat on the ground in front of the crystal, marking his and Lucario's final place.

Ash sat heavily in front of the gloves, looking at the crystal.

"Hey guys, it's been a while." He touched the time crystal, watching it unfurl. It was difficult to watch Lucario's final moments again; if Ash had known back then what he did today, none of this would have ever happened. Lucario would still be around to protect his Kingdom. "I wanted to show you what I've accomplished Lucario," he continued, fishing into his bag. He pulled out the heavy parcel containing his Guardian uniform. "Don't be too surprised now," he said as he quickly changed.

_A few Hours Ago._

Ash stood in front of a mirror. The uniform was obviously based on the one Sir Aaron used to wear, though it was distinctly more modern, and in Ash's opinion, cooler. The entire thing was laced with metal fibers, making it incredibly tough, though somewhat heavy. It had the feeling of armor to it. The hat was similar as well. It had the same shape and style but had a much more modern feel to it. Putting it on, Ash felt like Sir Aaron's younger brother.

"You look incredible, Ash," said Queen Ilene, watching him from her chair. They were in her personal quarters. Following the audience, Ash had requested a private talk with the Queen and she ended up leading him to her rooms.

"I look like Sir Aaron," said Ash pointedly. He took out the staff with the jewel on the end. "And now I _am_ Sir Aaron."

"Oh stop it, Ash, you're being a baby," said Ilene, shaking her head. "That clothing style has always been used by top ranking Guardians, in honor of Sir Aaron. Don't you remember wearing something like it for the festival years ago?" Ash nodded.

"Alright, but what about this?" he said, holding up the staff. "You know I couldn't ever take this from this castle. Plus, this isn't the actual staff." Ilene came over to him and took the staff, running her fingers over the jewel.

"Actually, I hate to say it, but Aaron's staff aged away before my eyes. It turned to dust," she said sadly.

"Really?"

"Yes, I believe that Lucario being in the jewel allowed the staff to resist the power of time, however when you released him, the staff went back to being a thousand year old piece of wood. After a while it just fell apart."

"But wait, I saw the staff earlier, when I was walking through the castle," said Ash confused. The Queen waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh, that one's a fake," she said quickly. "Still need to keep up appearances for the festivals and such. We reattached the jewel to this staff here, which _was_ specially made for you. It's yours Ash. So accept it or I'll have to beat you."

"That's really no way a Queen should be looking at things," Ash said blankly. Ilene just laughed. "Anyway, there's going to be a meeting later, right?" he continued. "Do you know when that's going to be?"

"Actually, Ash, I wanted to give you your orders now," said Ilene, sitting on her bed. "I've heard that you are very involved with Korinek."

"More than most, yeah," he replied.

"I need you to put that aside for now."

"What?" Ash reminded himself who he was speaking with. "I mean, I know so much about Korinek and his operation. Not to mention I need to protect Miranda."

"I know you want to stay close to her, and take care of the threat from Korinek, but I need you elsewhere. Your skills are far more need with the Royal Guardians."

"Who will be dealing with Korinek?" asked Ash after a minute.

"I'm placing your father in charge. He is a very capable man." Ash sighed. He didn't like it, but she was right. His father ran a tight ship back at Element HQ, and Ember would definitely be helping. Miranda was as safe as she could be. Kneeling in front of Ilene Ash bowed his head.

"My Queen, what are your orders?" he said.

"Knight Master Ash Ketchum, we require that you investigate the Royal Guardians of Aura for proof of rebellion. If they really are plotting to destroy the Monarchy, then they will certainly have a royal candidate of their own. Find out who it is, and find out who is the driving force behind the push. We have very limited information on the situation and so we ask that you be our eyes, ears, and perhaps even our sword in this situation. Sometimes all it takes is a change in leadership for things to go awry."

"Right."

"Do whatever you need to, Ash," said Ilene, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I do not say this lightly. It will surely be difficult, however if I have you on the job than I think I can breathe a bit easier."

"Well jeez, when you put it like that..." said Ash, standing.

"I'm giving you access to every resource you could ever need. If you need it, we will provide it. We cannot let people do as they please with our lives." Ash nodded, moving back to the dressing room to change out of the uniform. "What are you going to do now? You have your orders but you can still come to the meeting." Ash shook his head.

"I'd love to but there's somewhere I have to go," he looked out of the window, "Someone I have to see." he Queen followed his gaze, smiling sadly when she saw what he must be looking at.

"That's fine, tell them I say hello," she said. "The operation will begin tomorrow so take your time." Ilene left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Yeah," said Ash, looking out of her bedroom window. The Tree of Beginning could be seen off in the distance.

_Back in the Tree of Beginning_

Mew had returned, floating lazily behind Ash, listening to him talk to the crystal. Now, standing in front of the crystal's polished surface, Ash looked at his reflection.

"So anyway, that's pretty much is what's going on. Not like you're in any shape to help me out eh? Man, I really do look like Aaron's little brother. Though I promise I won't be trapping anyone in this staff anytime soon." He checked his watch. It was getting late. Kneeling, he tossed his spare clothing in his bag, slinging it on under his cloak. About to get up, his hand brushed the pair of gloves laying in front of the crystal.

"Hey Mew," Mew floated upside down, looking curious. Ash grinned, holding up the gloves. "You want a boost?"

* * *

"In any case, the Royal Guardians are sure to be throwing their support behind a royal candidate for the throne. As far as who that is, we have no idea." Queen Ilene sat now, allowing the Commanders to discuss the situation. She wanted to hear their ideas and they were arguing about how to handle the situation.

"Yes, but the royal candidate isn't necessarily running the show," said one of the older Commanders. "Your Majesty, I haven't had much information on the Royal Guardians at my branch. Do we know who their current leader is?"

"Yes, we do," said the Queen. "I was waiting for you all to get there before I said anything more." She pressed a few buttons on her computer and a new face appeared on the screens. "This is the new leader of the Royal Guardians. He took over for the previous leader fairly recently, though he was always heavily involved. His name is Cain Bernhardt." Gabriel closed his eyes, letting out a breath. Ember also was struck by the man on the screen.

"Uncle Cain?" He wasn't her actual uncle, but her father and him were friends when they were kids. The last time she saw him was when she was nine years old. That was nearly thirteen years ago.

"How do you know?" Gabriel Meres stood up, all eyes on him. "Your Majesty I beg your forgiveness, but how do you know that it's him? Is it a confirmed fact?"

"Yes, I'm sorry Gabe, I know you were close," said the Queen. She stood and walked to the middle of the room. "I am hoping upon hope that this situation can be resolved peacefully. However, if it comes to it we may end up fighting. I have two of our best leading that mission."

"I'm assuming Ash is one," said the older Commander. Queen Ilene nodded.

"Yes, though he's more the muscle in this team. I have someone a little closer to the situation heading the pair."

"Of course," said Gabriel. "You're talking about Riley Gen."

"I though he was still holed up in Sinnoh," said one of the Commanders. The Queen shook her head.

"I called him back recently. His experience and knowledge coupled with the raw ability Ash Ketchum holds will make an excellent team. Fortunately, they already know each other well, too."

* * *

Ash walked slowly through the tunnel leading away from the base of the Tree of Beginning. After giving Mew a burst of his own Aura, Mew teleported him all the way to the base of the tree to save him time. A quick goodbye and a nod later, Ash was walking back to the road where he left his 4x4. Being able to drive had made his life so much easier these past few years. Coming out of the tunnel he followed the fissure he was in to the road. However when he reached his vehicle he found that he had company. He did a double take. At first it had looked like Sir Aaron and his Lucario. On second inspection however...

"Riley?" said Ash incredulously. He ran over to his old friend. They hadn't seen each other in years.

"Ash it's good to see you again, god you've gotten taller," said Riley, clapping him on the shoulder. "Looking good, by the way. Nice threads." His Lucario nodded.

"It has been quite some time, Ash Ketchum," he said.

"Ditto. Glad to join the Sir Aaron club," said Ash, touching his hat. "Anyway, what are you two doing here? You're the last people I expected to see around here. I thought you were permanently based in Sinnoh."

"Not anymore," Riley said. He patted the hood of the Jeep. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah," said Ash, fishing out the keys and hopping in the driver's seat. As they took off down the road he asked, "How'd you get here in the first place?"

"I had someone from the Palace drive me." Ash looked at Riley blankly.

"That's just wrong. Drive yourself you lazy bum." Riley just laughed.

"It's alright, I found someone who wanted to get some air to begin with," he explained. "So did the Queen give you your orders?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"We're your partners on this one," said Lucario from the back seat. Ash looked back quickly.

"Seriously?"

"Yep," said Riley, leaning back in his seat. "I've actually been stationed in Sinnoh for so long because I've been investigating the Royal Guardians. Among other things," he added shrugging.

"I see," said Ash. "Is that where they're based?"

"Yeah. When we leave tomorrow we're heading straight there. I have a contact who has been providing me with some good information lately. We can start with him." Without warning Riley climbed into the back seat, pushing Lucario to the front. He laid down and pulled his hat over his eyes. "I'm actually really tired so I'm going to take a nap." Ash and Lucario watched as he somehow fell asleep while riding in a jeep on such a bumpy road.

"Riley has been looking forward to seeing you again, Ash Ketchum," said Lucario, looking at his long time partner. "We had a lot of fun the last time we saw each other."

"For sure," said Ash, remembering the crazy lessons he had been put through.

"Where is your partner?" Lucario asked.

"He's back at the Palace with the rest of my Pokemon. I came to the Tree to visit Sir Aaron and his Lucario's grave by myself," he explained. It was late evening now, the sun setting in the west. "Buckle up Lucario, we start our mission tomorrow and I want a good night's sleep." Ash pressed the accelerator and they zoomed off down the road.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Element City, a certain tattooed girl was finally wrapping up her day with a certain ex-Pokemon hunter.

"Oh come on, girl, did you really hate going around with me today?" asked Nel, folding her arms.

"Alright, alright, I enjoyed myself," Miranda admitted. They actually _did_ have a fun day. Nel was just such a difficult person to understand. Personally, Miranda had no idea how Ember could put up with her for more than a few hours, let alone a whole day or more. Somehow she had managed it. The two women were having a drink at a cafe. Miranda had a hot chocolate, while Nel a glass of wine. Sipping the hot drink, Miranda continued,

"I'm sorry, you're just really intense sometimes." Nel laughed.

"Sometimes? Don't you mean all the time?" Miranda couldn't help but smile. Going to take other sip, she noticed that all of the patrons siting around them were watching them carefully, trying to be stealthy about it.

"Oh you noticed it, didn't you?" said Nel. "We've been surrounded for a while now. I'm just wondering why they haven't made their move yet." Miranda stiffened. She had no Pokemon with her and Gardevoir would not be able to save the day like she often did. "I guess it's because they don't know who I am?" she continued. Nel downed her glass then stood up, all eyes watching her. "Well? I've finished my drink, so shouldn't we get started?" She threw a Pokeball high in the air, smiling a smile that Miranda felt did not match the situation they were in.

"Salamance, Dragonbreath!"


	17. Why Does She Have Explosives?

Chairs were knocked over in a rush. Salamance's attack reduced tables and chairs to pieces instantly, small amounts of blue and purple flame licking the wood. Dust kicked up, making the area hazy. Miranda looked up slowly. She had covered her head as soon as Nel threw her Pokemon into the air. Though the outdoor seating area of the cafe was destroyed, the Hunters surrounding them here were relatively unharmed.

"Attacking so suddenly, are you that keen or just crazy?" said one of the Hunters, taking a step forward. They had all pulled out pokeballs. Without even counting Miranda knew they were vastly outnumbered.

"Hey now, I taught you all better than that," said Nel, pulling out another pokeball and spinning it on her finger expertly. The trick held everyone's gaze, eyes locked on the spinning ball."Hesitation is an extension of mercy. I'm pretty sure I removed that word from your dictionaries."

"What are you talking about? I have no idea who you are, but I won't allow you to talk down to us," said the Hunter.

"You haven't brought enough people to back that up," shouted Nel, throwing the pokeball. "Come on Miranda, time to move!" She grabbed the girl and ran forwards, knocking one of the surprised Hunters aside. Her Drapion spun around, knocking a quarter of them over with its tail. "Salamance, waste them!"

As they ran into the cafe, there was an explosion outside, knocking them forward. Glass shattered, causing everyone in the cafe to scream. The two waitresses ducked behind the counter in fear. People moved to the far walls to avoid the broken glass. Nel helped Miranda to her feet, crunching through the broken glass. Shouts and screams could be heard through the shattered windows.

"Let's move! Capture them!"

"We're trapped in here!" said Miranda as they moved to the back of the cafe, knocking over chairs and people alike.

"Not quite," said Nel, reaching into her shirt. The Hunters had rushed in after them, slipping on the broken glass. She pulled out a small metal device. "Get away from the back wall or you're gonna die!" she shouted, causing the panicked people to scatter. She pressed a button on the device and threw it at the back wall while kicking over a small table and pulling Miranda behind it.

"You wouldn't-"

BOOM

Wood and dust went everywhere. Miranda thought she might go deaf due to all the screaming and banging.

"I thought we went out to have fun so why do you have explosives?! Couldn't we have just looked for a back door?" she shouted over the commotion.

"No time for something like that!" shouted Nel back. They ran through the hole into a wide alleyway running along the back of the building. Nel quickly threw another pokeball. "Ariados, cover the hole!" The Pokemon quickly shot web covering the hole completely. They watched as something suddenly pushed on it, only to be snapped back like elastic.

"Come on," said Miranda softly, "we've only gotten ourselves a few seconds." Nel nodded and recalled Ariados.

"You seem to be taking this pretty well, considering we were just having a drink a few seconds ago," she said, looking at the younger girl as they moved away from the webbed hole. Miranda grimaced.

"Yeah well, I'm used to being chased." Watching Miranda's back, the smile slid from Nel's face.

They hurried through the alleyway and turned as soon as they could, running away from the plaza. The path stretch on for a long way. The buildings that lined the sides were all tall and almost completely void of windows. They were probably storage buildings of some sort.

"They must be running through here!" came a loud voice from close behind. Miranda looked back, nervously.

"Nel, they're close, what do we do?" she whispered, looking back at the woman. But she wasn't there. Miranda stopped moving. Nel was nowhere to be seen. She quickly doubled back to the last intersection. Nel wasn't to the left or right either.

"There she is!" came a shout. Miranda saw a group of Hunters running at her from directly ahead. She ran as fast as she could. The Hunters were gaining on her and this time she had no battle-hungry companion to protect her. Where had Nel gone? Turning a corner Miranda tripped, almost hitting her head on one of the walls.

"Come on, she's close! You two go that way to cut her off!" The voice practically came from right behind her. She jumped to her feet and kept running, sides burning with the effort. She was so lost in this inner maze of buildings that she had no idea how to escape. Making another turn she stopped short. Hunters blocked the path ahead. Quietly she turned to go the other way but Hunters blocked that path as well. She was trapped. A hand was placed on her shoulder. Miranda froze.

"Well now, have you finally realized that there's no place to hide?" said the Hunter. "If you don't resist I promise we won't hurt you too badly." In a move that Ash had taught her, she grabbed the man's hand with her left, pulling him in and elbowed him hard in the side. He coughed in pain as Miranda spun to her left and punched him as hard as she could across the face. He dropped instantly. The other Hunters who were with the man were momentarily stunned by the sudden change in situation. Miranda instantly tore away down one of the paths, blood still pumping with fear and anger.

The Hunters chased her down the alleyway. One of them blew a whistle, causing another group to appear at the next intersection. Miranda looked around frantically for a way to escape. There were a few doorways but she couldn't take a risk on opening a door that could be locked. There was a stack of boxes against one wall that was piled well past the second floor windows. It was half way between her and the new group of hunters heading at her from the front. Her mind made rapid calculations, all ending badly. She had to try anyway.

Reaching the boxes she jumped on the first, launching herself up two more, not slowing at all. The Hunters were stumbling behind her but she knew there were some still right on her tail. She ran up more boxes, reaching the top and jumped as hard as she could. She grabbed at a third story windowsill, barely holding on. Miranda looked back in time to see one Hunter just miss her and fall to the ground. She struggled to pull herself up, standing in the small recess left by the glass.

"Eon, do you honestly think you're safe?" said one one of the Hunters. He shook his head, grinning. "We _do_ have Pokemon." He called out a small blue Pokemon with a swirl on its belly. "Water Pulse please, Poliwhirl."

"Girl, JUMP!"

Miranda closed her eyes and jumped as far as she could. The Water Pulse destroyed the window and the wall around it. Miranda waited to hit the ground, for it to be all over...but it never happened. Actually, everything felt a lot softer than the concrete ground she was expecting. Opening her eyes, she found herself face to face with a mass of fur moving slightly as it bounced up and down. Everything else around her was passing her in a blur.

"About time I found you," said a voice at her back. "You know when you get lost, you do it really well." It was Nel, holding Miranda in place so she wouldn't fall off. Miranda turned to the woman, half relieved, half annoyed.

"Where were you?"

"Is that how you say thank you so the person who just saved you from being Water Pulsed to dust?" said Nel, her voice filled with hurt. Miranda looked at her, but saw that she was just joking. "Sorry we got separated, I was actually about to suggest we use Arc here to get us out of there when you just vanished. At least the Hunters were making a lot of noise when they found you." Arcanine slid to a stop at an intersection, waiting for directions. The Hunters were following them on and off Pokemon. "Let's go, Arc!"

"But I don't understand, why weren't they chasing me on Pokemon?" said Miranda, looking back around Nel's side.

"I don't know," said Nel, shaking her head. "Most of these Hunters seem to have fairly small Pokemon to begin with. This was certainly planned out, but not thoroughly. I guess they didn't think they'd need to be so prepared for a chase. Anyway, I guess the ones with bigger Pokemon just happened to find me before you."

"Lucky us."

"Hang on tight, we're going to attack. Arcanine, Fire Blast!" Arcanine came to a stop at an intersection and turned around blasting the attack down the alleyway. It was large enough to fill it from wall to wall. "Now let's use this to hide."

They rode a bit further in silence, doing their best to keep from being detected. Looking around one corner, the two women saw the plaza in the distance at the very end of the alleyway.

"Let's move," whispered Nel, nudging Arcanine forward with her legs. Three intersections away from the plaza, sounds of footsteps could be heard very loudly. "Hunters," Nel breathed into Miranda's ear. Miranda pointed to a nearby door that was ajar. Nel nodded. Dismounting, she moved to the door, pushing it open a bit more and poking her head in. After a second she waved the all clear to Miranda who slid off the Pokemon and ran inside. Nel recalled Arcanine and closed the door, just as a group of Hunters rounded the corner.

Miranda blinked in the low light, trying to make out shapes in the room. She looked back at Nel to say something but she shook her head and put her finger to her lips before Miranda made a sound. Footsteps ran past the door.

"Someone check that door, they may have gone inside!" Miranda pulled at Nel's arm, trying to get her to run but she wouldn't move. Shaking her head, Nel just gripped the doorknob fiercely. Gritting her teeth, her arms tensed as someone tried to turn the doorknob.

"It's no good," said another voice through the door. "It won't budge. It's locked tight."

"Maybe they locked it?" Another shake on the door.

"Doesn't feel locked, it feels stuck. No one got in through this door recently, I'll say that much."

"If they aren't here then get your asses moving, we can't let the target escape. The Commander is counting on us!"

"Yes, Sir!"

The footsteps hurried off, growing softer until gone. Nel finally let go of the doorknob, panting a bit.

"See? It worked," she said happily. "I haven't had this much fun in years. Let's find another way out of here and meet back up with Salamance and Drapion. They could probably use a little support."

"God I forgot about them. Aren't you worried that they were taken down?" said Miranda. "I mean you left them there to fight a dozen odd Hunters and _all_ of their Pokemon. Not to mention it's been a while since we last saw them."

"You worry too much," said Nel, finding a ladder and climbing it. They were in a sort of storage building that had a handful of levels accessible from ladders. Climbing, Miranda looked out of a nearby window. She couldn't see anything that looked like battling. Finally they reached the fourth and top floor. The roof was low, and forced the two women to walk hunched over. The end of the room had a single window, overlooking the cafe and the plaza beyond. Both were in ruins. With the battle having gotten this out of hand no doubt the Police were already on their way.

"There they are," said Nel, pointing. Drapion was under heavy fire from multiple smaller Pokemon, driving it back. However Salamance swooped down and strafed them all with a Dragonbreath attack. Drapion used the opportunity to ram through them, tossing his opponents aside, Pokemon and Hunters alike.

"Your Pokemon are a little, rough," said Miranda, choosing her words carefully. Nel looked at the girl.

"I'm not one of your wimpy friends you know," she said, her voice almost emotionless. Miranda backed up slightly. Sometimes the pretty figure, long silver hair, and roguish attitude made her forget exactly who she was hanging around. From what she had heard, this was a woman who defined the word ruthless. "When people fight they get hurt. If you try to think of it in any other way you're just being naive."

"Sorry," said Miranda, cowed. Nel's face softened. After running around with her, Miranda was beginning to rub off on Nel. Not that she cared really, but it wasn't like this girl was just some random.

"Don't worry about it, everyone operates in their own way," said Nel, unlatching the window so it swung sideways. About to move, she hesitated and looked back at Miranda. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. You are pretty defenseless after all. Why don't you just hide here? I'll come get you when I'm done." Miranda looked offended.

"Just because I don't have any real way to fight doesn't mean I'll run away from one," she said hotly. "Plus I couldn't let you take them all on by yourself. You _have_ been keeping me safe after all." The two women looked at each other a moment, then Nel shrugged.

"Whatever you say. Come on we need to get to the plaza. Ariados, give us a few lines." The Pokemon shot web out of the window and onto a nearby roof. Ariados also covered the landing spot thickly with web to cushion their fall. Nel grabbed onto the web and leaped out of the window, making her way down to the roof. Thinking that sticking close to Nel was probably even more dangerous than being away from her, Miranda followed carefully. Ariados helped her make her way to the roof.

"Let's go," Nel said quietly, looking around before taking a running leap to the next roof. Miranda followed swiftly. Jumping from high point to high point was something she had done frequently as a child. The death defying heights made her heart race excitedly, despite the situation. Nel of course had no fear to begin with. Half way to the plaza they were spotted. A Staraptor shrieked and dove at them. "Run! Shouted Nel, picking up speed. They both jumped over an alleyway to a building at the edge of the plaza, Staraptor cutting the place they had just been with a Wing Attack. The Pokemon cried out again. They could easily here the Hunters converging on their position. With another attack, blades of wind cut large slices in the roof forcing Nel and Miranda apart.

"Come on Miranda, don't stop! Salamance!" Nel jumped off of the three story roof falling briefly before being caught by her Pokemon. Miranda made to follow but the ceiling suddenly collapsed underneath her feet, causing her to fall into the darkness below. Nel heard the girl scream, looking back just in time to see her swallowed up by the building. "Miranda!" she shouted. Looking around quickly she saw her other Pokemon. "Drapion! Get into that building and protect her! Don't let anyone touch her until I get there!" She pulled out another Pokeball. "Tyranitar you too!"

Salamance suddenly dodged sharply, avoiding an arc of lightning and nearly throwing Nel off his back. One of the Hunters had waited to bring out his own dragon; a Dragonite. His trainer stood on the ground with his arms folded. Even from this high up Nel could make out his smirk.

"Hang in there, girl. I'll be right there."

XxxxX

Cynthia slid off the table, feeling restless. Staring off into space could only do so much to distract her from her current situation: that she was trapped in a dungeon/mansion that was completely devoid of light. She could only believe that she was somehow deep underground, in some sort of building. Where that was however...

Shadows danced around the room as she made her way to a staircase that was against the nearest wall. There were similar staircases all over the room. They led to an upper level of walkways that all converged in the center of the room. As to where they led after that, Cynthia could only guess. Walking up the carpeted steps, the torchlight caught on something far up the wall. It looked like a giant, shiny portrait of some sort. Continuing up the steps she realized that it was actually a stained glass window.

Eyes transfixed, Cynthia's pace slowed. This couldn't be right. If this was a window, where was the outside? Was the entire building underground? Finally, she reached the top of the steps, putting her at eye level with one of the windows. A giant picture of a beautiful woman made of glass, the window towered above her. Careful not to touch the walls with her torches she leaned up to the window and pressed her face close in. Suddenly she jumped back shouting in alarm.

Fish.

There were fish floating outside the window, faintly illuminated by her torches.

"I... I'm underwater?"

Barely a thin whisper of her voice escaped her lips. Cynthia could barely keep herself upright, her legs had suddenly felt like jelly. Thoughts began racing through her head. How am I underwater? Where am I?

What if it breaks.

She quickly moved away from the window to the middle of the room, glancing back constantly. Her ears could almost make out sounds of the glass creaking under the pressure. How thick must the window be for it to not have shattered already? But she could still see clearly through it. Nothing about this place made any sense to her. How on earth did it end up so far underwater that she could see no light through the water. Of course her sense of time was completely messed up and it could very well be the middle of the night but still...

With one last shudder, Cynthia walked into the circular room that joined all of the elevated paths. It was a strange construction. A walkway stretched around the edge of the room, broken up by openings to the outer room. The middle of the room however was an empty hole. She leaned over the railing and looked at the room below. She was much higher up than it had appeared from the ground. Looking up, Cynthia was met with a new surprise. The room extended upwards into darkness like a huge round shaft. Her eyes caught on a spiral staircase that snaked up and out of sight. She followed it around to the bottom where it met with the walkway she was on.

"Seriously, what maniac built this place?" Cynthia said to the air. She walked to the staircase and started to climb. As she made her way up the room far below became dark, too far away from the torches to see. The spiral staircase leveled out occasionally, at which point there would be a door. Holding both torches awkwardly in one hand, she pushed the a door open and stuck a torch through the opening. The hallway stretched on into darkness, much like everything else about this place. A part of her wanted to explore but she knew now that the only way out would be straight up. The presence of breathable air so far down coupled with the lack of any kind of flooding could only mean that there must be a direct opening to the outside air somewhere, and with any luck, this spiral staircase would take her right to the top.

Hope in the back of her head, Cynthia began moving more quickly. The stairs creaked with age under her weight.

_Come on, I'm not that fat..._

She had only made three full rounds of the spiral staircase when the floor underneath her feet broke. Both torches fell from her hands as she grabbed onto the railing to prevent herself from falling to her death. The right torch fell behind her, bouncing down the steps and coming to a rest on the next landing, rolling around and causing the fire to smolder. Unfortunately, the other torch was a different matter entirely.

Hanging for her life, Cynthia was able to see the left torch fall straight down the middle of the hole. The ball of light fell until it came to rest on top of a cloth covered table. The cloth caught fire almost instantly, spreading in all directions. Cynthia watched in horror as the other tables in her narrow field of vision caught fire as well. At this rate, the entire room would go up in flames. It took all of her strength to pull herself up onto stable ground. With the floor behind her destroyed, the other torch was completely out of reach. Light from the fire below grew constantly. It was becoming the inferno she feared.

Smoke began going up the shaft, thick and black. Cynthia coughed. Her eyes stung, making it even harder to see in the already bad visibility. Stumbling, she pushed her way through the nearest door, closing it behind her. She pulled out the lighter and lit it, moving away from the door steadily. She knew it wouldn't last but she needed to get away from the fire. There was no telling how much it would spread. After a minute of stumbling down the hall the lighter went out. She tried relighting it but it just made sparks and didn't work. It must have finally run out of fuel. Still smelling smoke, Cynthia moved on, one hand to the wall and the other held out in front of her face. Walking this way was much slower, but after tripping so much in the lower levels of the building this was far safer. Her right hand suddenly slid into an open space. It was a door frame. She took a deep breath, not smelling any smoke. Not sensing danger anymore, the adrenaline that had pumped through her body so quickly was now leaving. She needed to rest.

"Where am I now?" Cynthia said feeling her way into the room. She moved away from the wall, sweeping her hands in front of her slowly. Suddenly she tripped on something small and fell forwards, arms up to protect her face but...!

Cynthia crashed into a wall of softness. She blinked, surprised, and started laughing happily. Finally she had fallen onto a bed. She must have found her way into a bedroom of some sort. The bag on her back felt like lead as she tried to pull it off. It fell to the floor with a solid thud. She pulled herself fully onto the soft mattress, head finding a pillow, falling asleep in seconds.

XxxxX

Nier sat in a semi-large room, feet up, eating out of a large bag of chips. He watched Cynthia crash into the bed and fall asleep. Screens filled the entire wall, all showing night vision shots. The door behind him clicked open and shut again.

"Nier, what are you doing here?" came the stern voice from behind him. Nier swiveled around in his chair.

"It's better than anything I've ever seen on TV before," he said, popping another chip into his mouth. "Honestly, you should watch too." The man walked over to Nier and snatched the bag out of his hand, staring down at the man, then fished a chip out for himself. Nier grinned.

"I'm not here to have fun, Nier. How is she faring?"

"Well considering that she turned the main dining room into a giant fireball, she's done fairly well," he said, jerking his thumb to a group of screens that were filled with blackness.

"What?" said the man sharply, moving over to the computer. He changed the displays on several of the screens to different cameras. Most didn't work, but one at the far end of the room showed a large fire, consuming everything in the room.

"Don't worry," Nier continued, before his visitor could say anything else, "I've already got it contained. The fire won't burn the place down and it won't affect the integrity of the walls or windows." The man shot him a hard look.

"And the smoke? I don't need her suffocating before I'm sure of her abilities."

"She seems to be out of harms way at the moment and the smoke should eventually vent itself," he said with a shrug. "Not that we should. She's fine, and it's a result of something she did after all. Don't know where she got that lighter to begin with..."

"At this point, something like that is inconsequential," said the man, straightening slowly. "Where is she now?"

"Well she was pretty close, but after causing the fire the only exit has been completely filled with smoke. Like I said, it'll clear up after a while, but for now she's taken refuge in one of the hallways off the main stair. It looks like she's sleeping now." Nier crossed his arms. "If you ask me, she's done enough. I mean she made it out of the labyrinth at the bottom, and that's the main test isn't it?" The man said nothing, touching the screen showing Cynthia laying on a bed.

"Unfortunately, it isn't done until she exits the building on her own. It's meaningless if we do any more."

"As you say, Mr. Bernhardt," said Nier, turning away from the man and rolling his eyes.

"That's right, Nier. Exactly as I say. Now, stop treating this like it's a joke. Let me know if anything else happens." The door clicked shut behind him. Nier sighed. The man really was no fun.

He turned back to the screens, watching Cynthia sleep peacefully, a smile playing across his lips. Of course, Cain didn't know what she had really gone through. It would have been far to boring to do things normally so he had chained her to the wall and made sure she was in the deepest part of the dungeon. Oh the excitement he felt when she was shouting at him... and all the better she had escaped!

"She truly is a beautiful woman, just like her mother," he mused, digging for another chip. "Resourceful; and, if you'll allow me so say so, well developed." He never expected to be given such a treat when that chair broke and her shirt ripped open. "Ah, Claire, if only you could see your beautiful daughter now... trying so hard. But don't worry," he added running a finger across the monitor showing Cynthia. "I'll take good care of her... It'll be just like old times."

He laughed softly.

XxxxX

Miranda groaned. She was half buried in plaster and wood. Sunlight shown down on her through the hole in the roof. There were sounds of an intense battle happening outside, but she couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. Moving her head slightly, the rubble around her shifted. She closed her eyes, hoping that the pain would lessen. How long had she been unconscious? Suddenly someone burst into the room.

"Hey, girl, you alright?" said the newcomer. A man was standing there that she didn't recognize, holding out a hand. It shifted in and out of focus. She had hit her head pretty hard. "Take my hand," said the man. She reached out and he grabbed her, pulling her out of the rubble into a wobbling standing position. Dust and grit fell off of her in streams. "You alright?"

"Yeah." The man grinned eerily.

"Good." Out of nowhere he threw a left hook, punching her squarely on the side of the head, knocking her down instantly. Miranda cried out in pain, curling up on the floor and cradling her head.

"That was sick, Tyler," said a Hunter from the door. Tyler turned to the speaker.

"Shut up, Katie. They didn't pick me cuz I'm nice. They picked me cuz I get the job done. Woman or not." Katie walked over to Miranda, while four other Hunters followed her.

"Doesn't change what it was," she muttered. "Get started you guys."

"What are you doing! Get- get away from me!" shouted Miranda, voice thick with pain. "Get AAHHHH!" She screamed as one of the Hunters dug a taser into her side, shocking her. He removed it after a second and put it on the floor, now busying himself with his bag.

"Hey moron you didn't do it long enough, she's still twitching," said Tyler sharply, scooping up the taser. He shoved it into the center of her chest before turning it back on. Almost as if frozen by his cruelty, no one moved but Miranda who's back was arched, raised up off of the floor. She wasn't even making any noise, her voice had caught in her throat. Katie came out of the trance first, balling up her fist and backhanding Tyler across the side of the head, knocking him aside. Miranda's body fell against the floor, completely limp.

"Try something like that again and I'll end your life right here!" said Katie darkly, rubbing her hand. Tyler said nothing to her but looked back at Miranda who's eyes were barely still open.

"Look at that, the freak's pretty tough. She's still awake after all that," he said. There was a distant crash and the house shook slightly. "What are you waiting for, get started," he shot at the Hunters crouched around Miranda. While they got to work, another came stumbling into the room looking beat up.

"That Drapion by itself is insane but with the Tyranitaur it's just too much. We need more help outside. Max's Dragonite can't really hold out much more either."

"Are you kidding me? It's just one woman," said Tyler.

"You don't understand, none of us have ever fought someone with Pokemon this strong."

"Tyler, go," said Katie.

"Screw that, you go," he said, folding his arms. Katie had to stop herself from hitting him again. There was no time to waste arguing. "Fine, just remember your orders." She vanished with the tired looking Hunter back out the door and into the fray.

"Well?" said Tyler, walking back over to Miranda. The four Hunters were already well into the process of taking her blood. Not wanting to risk anything, they were to take blood from every area with a tattoo, just to be extra thorough. Miranda made a sound of pain. "Hey, looks like you're conscious still," said Tyler, looking down into her eyes. They were wide with fear. "Did you enjoy the shock? Some people are into that kind of stuff, did you know?" he continued, enjoying the fear. Her eyes winced in pain every time she was stabbed with a needle.

"She's supposed to have three on her back too. Lets get her on her side for a sec. Miranda closed her eyes as they took blood from her neck, upper back and lower back. The needle in the back of her neck had scared her the most and she was breathing very heavily. The Hunters let her flop back to her original position staring at the ceiling as they put the blood samples in protected cases.

"Done," they said.

"Good," said Tyler, "Now get out of here. Protect the samples over everything else."

Everyone froze, looking around as the whole building shook. The two Pokemon were getting very close, but the Hunters outside were still good as keeping them slowed. The four Hunters quickly left the room, talking about a back door they could go through to avoid the crazy Pokemon out front.

"Dragonite!" came a cry from outside. "This is ridiculous. Everyone retreat!" It appeared that Salamance had won. This would mean they only had a few seconds before the crazy woman rejoined the fight. He could also hear sirens. Tyler knelt next to Miranda, pulling out a knife. Miranda watched it closely.

"I know you've got lots of tattoos but if you ask me, how do we know what we've seen is all of them?" he said, not paying attention to what was happening outside the room. He slid the knife down her shirt, ripping it slowly. "You sure you're not hiding any?" He tore the dress straight down the middle, grazing her skin slightly. Unable to do anything, Miranda closed her eyes tightly. Just then, Drapion burst through the doorway, grabbing the Hunter from behind and lifting him straight up, slamming him into the ceiling. Drapion threw him against the wall where he lay, unmoving. The knife was dropped next to Miranda. Drapion quickly moved fully through the doorway and stood over Miranda. Torn dress and all, Drapion carefully lifted her and launched himself up through the hole in the ceiling onto the roof.

"Drapion!" Salamance dropped Nel off on the roof. She ran over to Miranda, who was being placed gently on the roof. "Come on girl, are you alright?" Finally next to her Nel inhaled sharply. Miranda was bruised everywhere. Her dress had been torn straight down the middle, making it look like she was wearing a thin robe without a tie. Very thin trickles of blood ran from points on each tattoo, as well as a thin line that ran vertically down her abdomen. She didn't move, nor speak, nor did she make a sound. She just stared at Nel, tears leaking from her eyes. Nel sat on the roof, hard. Though the fight was over, her blood still boiled. She was more restless than she had ever been in her life.

Silence stretched on. Sirens filled the background as Police made their way through the area.

"I'm- I was so wrapped up in the battle I..." Glancing over, she saw that Miranda was mouthing words. Nel put her ear as close as she could to her mouth.

"Not...your...fault," said the whispery voice. Nel shook her head, turning away from Miranda so she wouldn't see her face.

"..."

XxxxX

"They were WHAT?"

"Ember, my ears..."

"Don't give me that! This is the exact thing we were trying to prevent. How could you have let that happen!"

"I told you, we had no knowledge of it! They were completely outnumbered-"

Sonia stood in front of one of the video phones in the communications room, rubbing her ears. Ember's angry face was staring back at her. Less than an hour ago Sonia had gotten a report that Miranda and Nel had been attacked by a large group of Hunters. Sonia had immediately taken three squads and a medical team to secure the women, who were waiting for them on top of a completely ruined building. The plaza that they were at was trashed and the local Police were already there. After a few minutes of smooth talking, Sonia had been able to convince them not to arrest Nel. Apparently over a dozen eye witnesses watched her blow up a cafe wall. Miranda was immediately sent to Headquarters for medical attention. She was in critical condition when they loaded her into the ambulance. Now looking at Ember's enraged face, Sonia was at a loss for what to say.

"Ember you have to understand,_ I wasn't there_," she said firmly, talking over the girl. "We didn't know what was going on until it was long over." Ember took an angry breath but let it go in a huff.

"I'm sorry Sonia, it's not your fault. I'm just mad it happened when I wasn't there," she said, crossing her arms. "Ah.. father." Gabriel Meres entered the screen and Sonia saluted.

"Commander," she quickly said, "I'm deeply sorry for the situation. I take full responsibility-"

"Sonia, stop it," he said shortly, putting up his hand. Sonia silenced immediately. "It is my fault for not taking the time to place proper restrictions on her movements and assigning her a proper guard, though from what I've heard they managed to get to her even with Nel protecting her." The sound of a door opening made Sonia turn around. Vice Commander Holly had finally arrived.

"Commander," she said, walking over to the screen, "Frankly, Miranda Eon does not look like she was protected. Instead, it looks as if she was strung up and beat with a bat like a pinata." Gabriel frowned heavily.

"Is that so? Why was she in such bad condition? Do we have an account of what happened?" he asked Sonia. She shook her head.

"Unfortunately all we have is the account of the witnesses who were in the cafe and nearby areas of the plaza while the battle was happening," she said, holding up a small pile of paper. "And Miranda still hasn't regained consciousness, right?" she asked Holly, who nodded.

"What about Nel?" asked Ember. "Where is she anyway? If she wasn't injured she should be here to report." Sonia and Holly traded looks.

"Nel is...not available," said Sonia after a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"She's been locked in her room since she got back," said Holly. "Apparently she hasn't said a word to anyone since we recovered the two. No one can get near her. Well, frankly no one wants to try." Ember frowned.

"I'm sorry but whatever is wrong with her will have to wait," said Gabriel. "I want a full report on the attack by the time I get back. I'll be leaving the palace in a few days. Neither Nel or Miss Eon is to leave the base without my express permission." He walked out of sight. Ember watched him go.

"I can't imagine what's going on with Nel, but try to get whatever you can out of her. Don't interrogate her though," Ember sighed. "Don't worry about what my father said. If it's not working out then I'll take care of it when we get back."

"We await your arrival," said Holly. Turning to Sonia she said, "I'll be in the infirmary if anyone needs me." Sonia watched her go shaking her head.

"So proper," she said. Turning back to Ember she said, "So what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"About Ash." Ember shook her head.

"Ash doesn't need to know," said a new voice from Ember's side. Ember jerked to attention. Moments later Queen Ilene appeared on screen.

"Your Majesty," said Sonia with a bow. Ilene nodded to her then continued.

"Commander Meres just informed me of what happened briefly. I am aware of Ash's connection to Miss Eon, however I need him focusing on his current mission. He is not to learn of this. At least not for now."

"Alright," said Ember after a second. "Sonia, please keep an eye on Miranda. Make sure she is well taken care of." Sonia smiled.

"Don't worry, I will."

XxxxX

_Cynthia was reading a book in the living room. It was something her father had given her for her sixth birthday. An old book that had hand drawn sketches of Unknown in it. It wasn't something she couldn't read. Her parents didn't know that she was sneaking their research books away one at a time to learn what she could from them. They were always filled with fascinating stories of ancient people and Pokemon. Now however she idly turned the page, bringing her to the Unknown that looked like an N._

"_Cynthia? Honey?"_

_Her mother walked in holding a child sized dress. She spotted the girl on the couch, absorbed in the book and oblivious to the fact that she was just wearing underwear._

"_Cynthia, how many times have I told you, you can't walk around half naked," she said, exasperated. Cynthia didn't look up from the book._

"_Sorry, Mommy."_

"_Don't 'sorry Mommy' me. Arms up." Cynthia put the book down and lifted her arms above her head, eyes still glued to the pages. Claire rolled her eyes and shoved the dress over the little girl's head. "Do the arms yourself," she added_

"_Why do I have to wear a dress?" asked Cynthia, finally looking away from the book._

"_Because today someone very important is coming to visit us," said Claire. "Especially to see you," she said, poking her daughter on the nose. There was a knock at the front door. "Oh that must be him!" She hurried off to the front of the house. Cynthia could hear her parents greeting the newcomer happily._

"_And where's this little angel I've been hearing so much about?" said the voice she didn't know._

"_She's right in here Cain, reading again," said her father. "I tell you we can't get her to do anything else." They all walked into the room. Cynthia closed her book, looking at the tall, young stranger in interest. He was wearing a long coat and straight pants, both bearing strange symbols on them. His boots were like the ones her Dad wore._

"_Hello, little one," he said, kneeling to put them at eye level. "My name is Cain." He held out a hand for Cynthia to shake. Her small hand was barely the size of his palm._

"_I'm Cynthia," she said. "You have old Pokemon writing on your clothing. I saw it in a book." Cain was taken aback._

"_Cynthia, you've been going through my research books, haven't you?" said her father. Cynthia nodded apologetically._

"_I see you are much smarter than I was told. Do you like to read?" he asked, motioning to the book at her side. Cynthia nodded._

"_It's about Unknown."_

"_Fascinating, do you want to know more about them? I know quite a bit myself. Maybe even more than that book." Cain smiled as Cynthia nodded eagerly._

"_Well I can see this is going to go on for a while," said Claire. "Come on Honey, let's go get them something to eat." Claire walked out of the room but her father lingered._

"_Anything in particular you want Cain? Water, juice, beer? You're old enough right?" Cain laughed._

"_Come on Leon, I'm twenty four. A beer would be great." Cain looked up, "We'll be along in a minute."_

"_No problem," said Leon, waving his hand unconcernedly and following after his wife. Cain turned back to Cynthia._

"_Your thirst for knowledge; I can see it in your eyes, you know. You have a great amount of potential, and one day your own powers will bloom." said Cain. "I know you will grow into a beautiful and intelligent woman. Just like your mother." He helped her down from the couch. "So, about the Unknown. What do you want to know?"_

XxxxX

Cynthia woke up slowly, parts of her dream still vivid in her head. It had been a long time since her old teacher's face had popped into her head. She had dreamed of the very first day they had met. Following that day her life completely changed. She traced the outline of the ceiling fan with her eyes, lost in memories. Suddenly realizing what she was doing she blinked rapidly and sat up.

The room was completely visible. It was the same as when she had been lost in the depths of the lower levels, but so much stronger. Everything was outlined in a deep shade of shining blue, like a strange form of night vision. The strangest thing was that she could somehow "see" farther than with just her eyes. Maybe see wasn't the right word. For whatever reason the area around her was clearly visible; all the way back to the winding stairwell she had escaped from earlier. She could easily tell now where to go. But would her new vision actually last? Last time this happened it was gone almost instantly.

"I can't waste any time," Cynthia said, standing up and grabbing her bag. She began making her way back to the stairwell, paying close attention to the air quality. She was going to a place recently flooded with smoke. However the more she walked, the more she could _see_, the more confident she became. Even when she closed her eyes she knew where everything was. Though she could detect traces of smoke it wasn't something she couldn't pass through for a small amount of time. She grinned.

This wouldn't be difficult at all.

XxxxX

"Ash...? Ash, are you paying attention?"

"What?" Ash looked around from the small airship's window. He and Riley had just departed from the airstrip outside Rota, heading north to Sinnoh. "I'm sorry Riley, I was spacing out."

"Clearly," he said, sitting across from him. "What's on your mind?"

"In a word, girls." Riley laughed. "I mean, I feel bad for leaving Miranda back in Element like I did. There's been no word of Cynthia either. Cynthia Shirona," he added at Riley's silent question.

"No word? The Sinnoh Champion is _missing?_" he repeated, scratching his chin. He tossed a pokeball in the air and caught it, thinking.

"Well, I'm not sure but the last I heard she couldn't be found," said Ash. He looked down at his hands. The desire to go looking for Cynthia was strong. Very strong. Riley patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ash. Something tells me it'll be alright. Now," he grinned, pulling out a roll of paper, "there's a lot I need to fill you in about before we get there. You ready for the most complicated mission you'll ever do?" Ash shrugged.

"Can't be more complicated than saving the world."


	18. Freefall

Cynthia slowly pushed the large glass doors open. A cool breeze of fresh air instantly rushed into the room, ruffling her hair and causing her face to light up. Blue sky stretched above her head; or at least that's what she figured. Her strange bluish vision had yet to go away. She was beginning to worry that it might be stuck like this. Looking around, Cynthia saw that the doors led to a wide balcony which at on point in the distant past likely commanded a view both terrifying and breathtaking at the same time. Now however, the balcony served as a small island surrounded by a large lake. She had no idea where his could be.

She blinked and suddenly her vision was back to normal. The bright blues and greens popped out at her making her jump slightly. Bushy trees lined the edge of the lake in the distance all around her. At that point the state of her clothing came back to her and she looked down at the ripped and worn out clothes she wore. Placing the backpack by the doors, Cynthia walked to the edge of the balcony and leaned on the railing, looking at her reflection. She winced at what she saw. A young woman who looked like she had a fight with a pair of scissors, and lost. Well, at least she was still decent...sort of.

"...ia..."

The wind blew across her face again, almost sounding like it was calling to her.

"...thia..."

There it was again. Cynthia looked up. Was that her imagination? Putting a hand up against the sunlight, she could make out something very small on the water in the distance, but slowly growing larger with each passing second.

"Cynthia!"

"Hello?" she shouted back. It was a boat! And there was someone on it. The man rowed out to her steadily, getting closer and closer. Finally when he was less than a hundred feet from her he stopped rowing and stood up, letting his momentum drift him the rest of the way. Cynthia merely stared at him, suddenly unable to say a word. She could not believe it. Could it really be him?

"Cynthia, you've made it," said the man, finally reaching the balcony and tying the boat to the railing. He put a hand on the railing and easily vaulted it. There was no mistaking it. His voice, his face, even the small mannerisms... they were all there. Suddenly her appearance didn't matter. The hardships she had just endured fell away. Everything vanished before the man who stood before her. She gripped her arm tightly, biting her lower lip. Tears welled up in Cynthia's eyes.

"Sensei," she sobbed rushing into his open arms. Her long time teacher patted the girl's head softly, soothingly.

"There there, Cynthia. Everything is going to be okay."

XxxxX

"What's our time?"

"Ten minutes to drop, Sir. Be ready for it."

"Thanks, Captain. Nice flying." Riley walked out of the cockpit and back into the small seating area of the airship. Ash sat in one of the seats which was reclined as far back as it would go, his trainer cap over his eyes. Pikachu was as fast asleep as his trainer, curled up in Ash's lap. Riley had still had some things he wanted Ash to know before they met their contact, but he decided to let Ash sleep. After the initial conversation they had about the Royal Guardians, Ash had again begun worrying about other things. Riley half listened to Ash rant about crazy girls and siblings until he tired himself out and promptly fell asleep. Sometimes he could be such a kid.

"Ash time to get up, we're here," said Riley, nudging the young Guardian with his leg. Ash yawned hugely and sat up.

"Right, right," he said tiredly. "And where exactly is here?" Pikachu sat up as well, ears twitching.

"Sinnoh. More precisely, a couple of miles outside Celestic Town." Riley was rummaging in a bin behind the seats. He straightened, turning to give Ash a bulky backpack. "Strap this on. You're going to need it. Do all the straps tightly, mind you."

"What? Alright," he said, somewhat confused. The backpack was abnormally heavy for its size and had more clips and lose straps than he had ever seen on a backpack before. Securing them all, his eyes were drawn to a short one that was different from all the others. It was white and came directly out of the shoulder strap. Dangling at the end was a small handle, as if inviting him to pull. Suddenly Ash was feeling very awake.

"Riley?"

"Yeah Ash."

"We're jumping out of this thing aren't we."

"Sure are."

"Sir Riley, we've reached the drop zone. You're all clear," called the captain. "God speed."

"God speed? Are you crazy?!" shouted Ash, but his words were completely drowned out by the blast of air caused by Riley opening the rear hatch. The wind whipped everything not tied down around and out the door. Riley steadily moved the protesting Ash to the door. "Wait Riley, we're friends right? Friends don't force each other out of airships at thirty thousand FEEEEEEEEEEEET!"

Pikachu seemed to have realized he was next because he quickly turned around to escape, but Riley was too quick, snatching him up in his arms and running for the door.

"Don't worry Pikachu, just don't let go of me alright? And no electric attacks- AHHHHHH" The crispy Aura Guardian staggered, holding the sparking Pokemon, and fell out of the door. They were airborne.

XxxxX

Ash had stopped screaming a while ago. It really just made things worse. He had to will himself not to pull the cord straight away, otherwise it would take him forever to get to the ground. Once he started to get the hang of controlling his descent he actually started to enjoy it. As long as he didn't think about the large mass that was rapidly rushing towards him it was manageable. While falling he took not that he was able to see so much of the Sinnoh region. There were little blots of different color to nature that were obviously cities and large towns. At this height he wouldn't even be able to make out the smaller ones. Wondering what happened to his companion, he rolled over and saw Riley above him, falling at a weird angle. Frowning, Ash spread his body wide and his decent slowed marginally, allowing him to get closer to Riley.

"You alright?" Ash shouted to be heard over the wind. Riley just grimaced.

"Next time, you take the electric Pokemon!" he shouted back. They fell in silence for a while when Riley shouted, "Be ready to pull the cord, we're getting to the right altitude!" Ash nodded, ready to stop falling so fast. It was probably only because he always got into ridiculous situations as a kid that he didn't black out from panic when he was shoved out of the small airship.

"One!" Ash gripped the cord.

"Two!" Riley gripped the cord, holding Pikachu tight under his other arm.

"THREE!" They both pulled, causing the parachutes to deploy, instantly cutting their speed. "See?" shouted Riley, though not as intensely. "Isn't this great?"

"No way in hell!" shouted Ash. The view was nice. The scared to death aspect he could do without. Looking down, the ground got ever closer, now that they were within a couple thousand feet or so. Their landing zone was a clear stretch of meadow that spanned a good couple of square acres. Ash could easily see Celestic Town a little ways away from it. Looking down again, the ground really seemed to be rushing toward them.

"Riley, aren't we going a little fast?" Ash shouted, starting to feel panic.

"Actually, yeah this isn't good," he shouted back. "Actually you know, I don't ever remember doing one of these landings without getting really banged up in the process. I always thought it was how it went."

"Are you crazy? We'll die!" Ash shouted. He quickly pulled out a pokeball, holding at arm's length and pointing it at his chest. "Gardevoir!" The psychic Pokemon materialized in his arms, right where he wanted her to be.

"_Ash, what's- WHY ARE WE FALLING FROM SO HIGH UP!"_

"Gardevoir, slow us down! Do whatever you can!"

"Careful not to collapse the parachutes though!" shouted Riley quickly, looking up. Gardevoir carefully eased their descent. They got closer and closer to the meadow until they were a hundred, fifty, thirty, a dozen feet from the ground. Gardevoir quickly pushed them forward, reducing the impact of hitting the ground to less than anything they would have gotten without her. Ash skidded to a stop, somehow managing to stay on his feet. Gardevoir remained in his arms, her own arms wrapped around his neck.

"_Please don't ever do that again,"_ she said to him.

"Sorry Gardevoir, I won't." he made to put her on her feet but she tightened her hold.

"_Wait, I... my legs are still weak and would not support my weight. Let me...stay like this for a moment?"_ Ash blinked. Did Gardevoir just blush?

"Uh sure." Shaking his head, Ash turned to find Riley face down in the grass, Pikachu sitting on his back, completely unharmed. "Good to see you're alright, Buddy." Pikachu scowled. "Uh Gardevoir..."

Pikachu's Discharge bounced harmlessly off of Gardevoir's Light Screen. Riley, of course did not get off as easily.

"Are you trying to kill me, you little rat?" he coughed. Pikachu simply whacked him over the head with his tail before running over to sit on Ash's shoulder again. Ash laughed. It reminded him of when he and Pikachu used to have big arguments. Pikachu always won. Always.

After recovering from their aerial adventure, Ash recalled Gardevoir and the three of them began the short walk to Celestic town. It only took an hour and a half to reach the towns limits. The small town houses were quaint, gently set against the trees. They could see people here and their tending their gardens and chatting with each other happily. As they got closer to the center of the town activity picked up and other travelers were more frequent, especially near the Pokemon center. Riley led them toward the Celestic Town Historic Research Center, which stood in front of the Celestic Ruins.

"Where are we going?" asked Ash as they walked through the high ceiling rooms of the Research Center. It was easily the most packed building in the town. There were easily as many scientists as there were tourists. Riley just shook his head and led them straight through to the ruins. Over the years the ruins had become even further explored and excavated, allowing the outer areas and some of the inside to be open to the general public as well. Riley checked the time.

"Well, we're on time, but I wonder if..."

"Riley," said Ash, jerking his head at a hooded figure off to the side, examining one of the pillars. Riley grinned.

"Nice eyes, Ash. Stay here, then follow us out." Riley walked over to the man, paused for a minute, then they both began walking to the edge of the site, away from the entrance. Ash quickly followed them through the stone pillars, marking the edge of the ruins and into the forest beyond. He quickly moved to catch up, not wanting to get lost. Where were they going?

After ten minutes of walking they came to a cottage that had a path leading away from it, likely to a more used road. He followed them inside and closed the door behind him. They had gone into the kitchen.

"Sorry about all the secrecy," the man was saying to Riley, pulling off his hood. "It's not exactly safe for me to be walking around this town to begin with."

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "Ash, come here I'd like you to meet someone." Ash walked over and shook the tall man's hand firmly. There was something about him that Ash found almost familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Ash Ketchum," said Ash.

"Leon Shirona." Ash blinked surprised. "I'm Cynthia Shirona's father."

XxxxX

A few minutes later Ash and Riley sat comfortably at the dining table. Leon walked in with a glass of water in each hand and a beer under his arm. Setting down the two waters he took the third seat, popping the bottle cap with the edge of the table. He took a long draft. Ash was still finding it difficult this man was Cynthia's father. Cynthia herself had told him that both her parents were dead. So what was going on?

"So, Leon, I know pretty much what's going on, but Ash is fairly new to the situation," Riley said after a moment. "Do you think you could fill him in?"

"Right, well I guess you must know bits and pieces about what's been going on, Ash, but for simplicity I'll start at the beginning." His face grew darker. "Cain Bernhardt."

"I met Cain over thirty years ago, when he was just a scrap of a kid, maybe ten years old. I was just out of school studying ancient Pokemon civilizations. I gave a public presentation of some of my findings and he approached me about it afterward. He said some things that no normal ten year old kid could have put together. So he started tagging along when I did my research. Even though we were ten years apart he became by best friend. Through him I even ended up meeting Claire, who ended up becoming my wife." Leon closed his eyes at this, as if reliving a sad memory.

"So I married Claire and Cain continued to become an excellent historian. I thought that his work meant everything to him. He often spent a lot of time with myself and Claire, trading ideas and methods. When Claire had Cynthia, Cain left to 'further pursue his ambitions'. Claire and I didn't hear from him for years. Then suddenly when Cynthia was almost six he suddenly returned, all grown up and mature. He offered to be Cynthia's personal teacher. He said it was the least he could do for everything we had done for him."

"And you agreed?" asked Ash, his water completely forgotten. This was more information about Cynthia's life than he had ever known. Riley glanced at Ash, sipping his water silently.

"Of course," said Leon. "Like I said, Cain was my best friend. I fully trusted him and I couldn't ask for someone more perfect to be Cynthia's teacher. Plus by that time she was already more curious about my work than anyone else her age. Digging into my books and stuff." He trailed off again, smiling fondly. "Anyway, Cain became very involved with Cynthia's life, and suddenly Claire and I had the time to do excavations like we used to. Time passed by. Months and years of a perfect life. Cynthia grew into a beautiful and incredibly intelligent young girl. She got her first Pokemon as well, training in her spare time. Then..." Leon broke off, unsure how to continue. He sighed deeply.

"One day Claire and I were off leading a dig in a ruin. We had just discovered that the ruin ran deep underground and there were a multitude of tunnels to explore. Then tragedy struck. There was a cave in on top of the team. Everyone was crushed. No one made it out alive. Not even I did."

Ash and Riley were speechless. This was well beyond what Leon had told Riley the first time he explained about Cain.

"But wait, you obviously survived," said Ash. Leon shook his head.

"You see, I found out later that the cave in was actually fabricated by a group. A group that I looked into and found Cain to be a leading part of. Like it or not Cain organized my and Claire's deaths." He closed his eyes. It was not pleasant, talking of such things. "But that really is beside the point. Cynthia of course went to my mother, and Cain was still her teacher. As far as I know he stopped visiting her around when she was fifteen or so. I've been living in secret, working for the Royal Guardians as a busybody under a fake name. Obviously I avoid Cain. It's dangerous, but at least I am able to keep an eye on my daughter." He saw Ash's skeptical look. "What?"

"I dunno, how can you be satisfied with that? Doesn't Cynthia deserve to know?" he asked. He knew it wasn't any of his business but still... "I mean she thinks you're dead but you're not."

"I understand where you're coming from Ash. It's just after your best friend tries to kill you and still looks after your daughter, you really start to wonder what could be going on. I know they are planning something- actually they are well into their plan- but I won't let them truly harm her. She's not a child anymore either. But in answer to your question, I have much more control this way than I would if I came out of hiding and possibly provoked Cain further."

"So," said Riley, speaking for the first time. The other two looked at him. "Can you tell us of the most recent developments? On the way here Ash mentioned something about Cynthia being missing." Leon raised an eyebrow at Ash.

"If you weren't aware, Cynthia and I were finalists in the large Pokemon Tournament that ended recently."

"I was aware actually," said Leon smiling. "My daughter is one of the greatest Pokemon trainers in the world. I couldn't be more proud."

"Leon..." said Riley, rolling his eyes. He had been around the man when he began to gush about his daughter. It was often difficult to stop.

"Ah sorry," he said. "It seems that Cynthia was recently taken from Element City by the Night Courier, or Nier for short. Don't ask," he added as both Ash and Riley opened their mouths. "They are putting her through a somewhat dangerous test in an attempt to gauge her innate Aura abilities. Her bloodline is traced back through her mother's side from what I've learned in the past few years."

"Innate _Aura_ abilities?" repeated Ash in shock.

"What test?" asked Riley.

"She was placed at the bottom of a mansion that is at the bottom of a lake and she has to get out," he said, shaking his head.

"What?" shouted Ash, nearly knocking over his water glass. This was getting crazier and crazier by the second.

"Yeah it's odd, but strangely effective," said Leon. "Oh don't worry about it, there's plenty of air in the mansion and no chance of it becoming flooded. I actually sneaked in and gave her a little something to help her on her way. There was nothing I could do otherwise, though." He shook his head. "I hated doing it but I had to leave her. Since then I've no information about her condition."

"We have to go save her," said Ash quickly.

"Wait Ash, we can't just barge in there and take her," said Riley calmly. "We need to know what Cain is planning and if we can, solve this without any fighting. Those were the Queen's orders." Ash sat back crossing his arms grumpily. "Plus, Cynthia is a very strong person. I'm sure she'll be alright. We need to focus on the problem at its source: Cain."

"And what do you suggest we do about that?" said Ash scratching Pikachu's head distractedly.

"About that..." Leon's voice drew their attention. "I actually happened to be given a mission to locate the Aura Guardians that were sent to deal with the organization. I've, uhh, got an invitation for you." Leon pulled a sealed envelope out of a pocket and tossed it on the table in front of Riley.

"Isn't that suspicious that they gave you that mission?" said Ash, one eye on Riley as he read the letter. "I mean it sounds like they know you're not really working for them."

"No I don't think so," said Leon. "I actually wasn't the one who was given the mission. Nier was, but he didn't want to do it so he gave me the mission. Likely without Cain knowing. Nier is...hard to control."

"Well, that makes things simple," said Riley, folding the letter and sticking it in a pocket. "We've been invited to meet with the leader of the Royal Guardians three days from now. To discuss...things." Ash laughed softly.

"Perfect."

XxxxX

Cynthia sat at a large dining table, covered with an extravagant assortment of foods. Washed and freshly bandaged where needed, she was wearing the most beautiful dress made of silk, embroidery running lazily along the cloth like thin vines around a tree. Directly across from her sat Cain, her longtime teacher. Though she hadn't seen him in many years he looked almost exactly the same. Tall and extremely handsome. Whenever he moved his head from side to side a lock of hair flopped down into his eyes. When she was young she would always push it out of the way, often causing his hair to become messier. She couldn't help but want to fix his hair even now at twenty five. The years had been very kind to him. Just as she took a bite of chicken Cain looked over at her and smiled. She felt her heart skip and suddenly she felt embarrassed for being caught chewing. She quickly swallowed and put down her utensils.

Cynthia thought back to when they first met. She was only six at the time, and it was one of the best days of her entire life. Cain had instantly become her teacher, mentor, and close friend. Almost every day of the year he stopped by to teach her something new about Pokemon and their history. By the time she was nine, Cynthia actually saw Cain more than she saw her parents, who were often away excavating ancient Pokemon ruins. Despite having so much work of his own, Cain always had time for her.

When her parents died during a collapse of one of the ruin sites everything changed. She went to live with her Grandmother in , who was not completely able to look after Cynthia because of her work. Cain's visits however continued through the tragedy. Looking back, Cynthia was unsure what would have happened to her if he hadn't been there for her. The last time they saw each other was when she was fifteen; nearly ten years ago. Yet here they were, eating a meal together.

"Cynthia," said Cain after a moment, "I really must apologize for having you spirited away and placed in a dark place for so long. There was nothing I could do..." he drifted off. Cynthia didn't know what to make of the situation. He had told her on the boat that he would explain everything to her and to please wait until they were back at his home. She waited patiently. Cain always kept his word. "What you said before, about being chained. I had no knowledge of this and I will see to Nier. Still I take full responsibility for what has happened and I would not blame you if you hated me in the slightest for-"

"N-no!" Cynthia interjected, waving her hands. She took a breath, looking at her plate before meeting his eyes. "I don't hate you, I'm sure you had your reasons. I know you wouldn't try to hurt me purposely."

"You know me well, Cynthia."

"But, Sensei-" but Cain shook his head.

"Cynthia, Sensei might have been alright for when you were a girl, but you are a grown woman now. Highly accomplished too, I might add," he said with a grin. Cynthia smiled at the praise. "Please, call me Cain."

"Well then, Cain, where have you been? What made you leave all those years ago? What have you been up to? Is this really your home? Why-" Cain laughed loudly, interrupting the flood of questions.

"One at a time, Cynthia. I know you have a lot to ask me and I will do my best to tell you everything I can. First, you should know that I belong to a group of people most recently known as the Royal Guardians. I know this will all be somewhat confusing but I promise it will all make sense in the end." Cain stood up and walked about the room as he began his tale.

"Over a thousand years ago there existed a monarchy in the Kanto region, always ruled by a Queen. That monarchy continued to exist, withstanding the test of time. At one point four or five centuries ago, the exact time is inconsequential, one of the Queens gave birth to a son and a daughter, both of different fathers. There was a political battle over who should succeed the throne; the first born, a boy, or the traditional rule by a queen. Unfortunately tradition prevailed and the younger girl was groomed to be the queen. The father of the son however was not satisfied with the decision and took his son, never to be seen again." Cain stopped and looked over at Cynthia. "Or so most believed."

"You see, the father established an order of knights who were loyal to the first born son of the Queen, and established the Royal Guardians, a group of Aura Guardians who are dedicated to protecting the royal lineage of the son."

"Aura Guardians? Wait, you're... an Aura Guardian?"

"I am," said Cain, looking at one of his hands. "That's one of the reasons I left so suddenly. I put off continuing my training for as long as I could so that I could continue to support you after what happened to your parents, rest their souls." Cynthia looked down into her silk embroidered lap, emotions churning in the pit of her stomach. She had gotten past the deaths of her parents a long time ago, but seeing Cain again was bringing back a _lot_ of old feelings. "But eventually I had to return. Of course I've been keeping close track of what you've been up to. If only you knew how proud I've been of you all these years. I knew you were always destined for great things, Cynthia, and you've exceeded my expectations."

"Stop Cain, I'll blush," said Cynthia jokingly, though the heat in her face was plain. She quickly put her hands to her cheeks and said, "Please continue though."

"Right, well I've been working all this time for the Royal Guardian's cause. It may be hard to believe, but as our bloodline exists to this day, so does the other. And it is that bloodline that maintains the claim to the throne." Cains pacing quickened, his voice becoming agitated. "The monarchy has been tainted by their corruption. It is no longer a monarchy that is there to serve the people, just themselves and their organization. Everyone in the Royal Guardians longs to see the true heir to the throne in her rightful place. Cynthia..."

He broke off and leaned against the table, apparently caught up in deep thought. Cynthia stood and moved over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I still don't completely understand," she said. "What does this have to do with me? Why was I kidnapped and put through that, ordeal?" Cain placed a hand on hers.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" he said, sinking to one knee, still holding her hand. "The rightful heir to the throne is you." Cynthia took a step back.

"Cain that's not funny, I'm not royalty," she said shaking her head. "I'm just an average woman. Please stand, I don't like you kneeling to me."

"I'm sorry," said Cain, standing. "But it is the certain truth. You know I would never lie to you."

"But how is that even possible?" said Cynthia, still taken aback. "What proof do you have?"

"Well, your mother Claire is a direct descendant so that would make you one as well," said Cain, "but there is something else. Every member of the royal family is able to use Auric abilities." He held out his hand and small amounts of bluish energy swirled in his palm before disappearing.

"You're saying I can use Aura?" asked Cynthia.

"Yes, and that is what the 'ordeal' as you called it was for. It is a rite that all members of the royal family go through to bring out their potential. The extreme dark serves to let the mind expand to its fullest and release anything binding your ability. It's an age old method, but has always proved effective. Cynthia, may I have my hand back?" Cynthia just became aware that she was still holding Cain's hand from earlier. She dropped it quickly, blushing lightly. She was so annoyed with herself, it was like she was fifteen again.

"Sorry."

"Don't let it bother you," he said kindly. "Tell me, have you experienced anything that could have been an Auric ability? Anything at all."

"Well to be honest, twice I was able to see in the dark even though I had no light at the time," said Cynthia. "I could make out every little detail of things even far away. It was like I could feel everything around me. Crazy right?" Cain frowned.

"Hmm, well that is indeed an Auric ability. You've experienced your bloodline firsthand."

"So you, the Royal Guardians, want to put me on the throne?" asked Cynthia feeling bemused.

"Yes. Since you were a little girl you have been the hope of many people," said Cain. He moved toward her but she took a step back.

"Does that mean the only reason you became my teacher was to raise me as a Queen?" the hurt in Cynthia's voice was obvious. Cain shook his head with a smile.

"Of course not. I never would have been around you so much unless I really wanted to be. I know it's hard to believe but I really just loved being your teacher. You had such a passion for knowledge at that age, it was often humbling." Cynthia hesitated for a moment, then put her arms around Cain in a big hug.

"I've just missed you so much," she said softly. "When you left I felt so lost I thought you abandoned me." Cain returned the hug tightly.

"I would never abandon you, Cynthia. I _need_ you, more than anything. More than anyone." She didn't know how to respond to that. Her head was spinning with everything that had just been said to begin with. They let go of each other and Cain clapped his hands loudly. Two maids entered the room from one of the doors. "Please see Cynthia to her new rooms and make sure that she is provided with anything she could require." They bowed to him. "Cynthia," he said, turning to her, "I have some business I must take care of for the Royal Guardians, but we will definitely continue this talk later. In the mean time please rest and recover in your rooms, though you're free to explore the mansion. Just make sure you don't get lost."

"Alright," she said, walking to the two maids.

"And Cynthia..." Cynthia paused. "You look truly beautiful in that dress. I hope I will be able to see you in more in the future." Cynthia's cheeks grew red and she hurried away, saying nothing. The maids closed the doors behind them. The doors on the other side of the room opened, revealing the person who had been standing there the entire time. Nier clapped lightly.

"I must say, I've never seen anyone sweet talk so well," he said. "You never cease to amaze me, Mr. Bernhardt." Cain ignored the jibe.

"Cynthia's always been high on my priorities. That's never changed. Of course it helps that she's still maintained her attraction to me after all these years. It's certainly not a teenage girl crush anymore at this point."

"I'm actually a little surprised you're not having her stay with you in your rooms..."

Cain turned to the newcomer, smile replaced by a scowl.

"Can it, Nier. It's none of your concern. Cynthia is mine now. Did you take care of what I asked you to do?" Nier bowed shortly.

"Of course, all as you commanded."

"Good." Cain suddenly shot out a hand, gripping Nier by the neck and forcing him against the wall. "If I _ever_ hear that you've done something to Cynthia again I will personally end your life." He released Nier who coughed, rubbing his throat. "Now let's go, we have guests to prepare for.

XxxxX

Curtains drawn shut and lights out, Nel stared at the ceiling of her room, not really seeing it. Instead, Miranda's bruised and bloody body filled her sight, telling her it wasn't her fault. Nel closed her eyes tightly, clenching her fists in fury. She was angry. More angry than she had been when people got in her way when she was still a Pokemon hunter. More angry than she had been when Vince had betrayed her and left her for dead. More angry than she had ever been in her entire life...and it was all anger at herself. Her recklessness was what caused Miranda to get hurt so badly. If she hadn't been so caught up in trouncing Vince's underlings then maybe they would have been able to get away completely fine. There was a sudden knock at the door. Nel looked over to her right, staring at it.

"Um, Miss Nel, I've brought you your lunch. You really should eat," came a timid female voice through the door. She quickly beat a hasty retreat, leaving the food outside the door like the others had done for the past day. Nel's stomach growled in need of food, but she didn't move. Years of living with very little to eat had taught her to manage without food if she needed to. Of course, those days had long since past. She sighed heavily. After a day of staring off into space and feeling sorry for herself she needed to move around.

Nel rolled off of her bed and walked to the door, opening it. The bright light of the hallway hurt her eyes slightly as she looked up and down the hall, finding it empty as she expected. It was just as well that it was empty, seeing as she was only wearing a bra and underwear. Having gotten undressed the day before, she just never got around to getting redressed. The cart of food by the door drew her eyes. It was filled with a feast for more than just one person. Clearly someone had realized that she hadn't been eating. Nel pulled the cart inside, flipping the lights on, and put everything on her table. It wasn't long before the plates were all cleaned and the containers empty.

Feeling more alive, Nel walked over to her full length mirror next to the wardrobe. Her long silvery hair was a complete mess. Dragging a brush through it she thought back to when she decided to let it grow, unsure if she would like it. Now she was glad she stuck with it. Over four years of growth and her hair now came down to the small of her back; it had been a pity she always kept it cut short. Of course, back then the thought about things completely differently too. Finally brushed straight to her liking, Nel rummaged through the wardrobe for something to wear. She tossed aside a spare Guardian uniform and pulled out something truly nostalgic. It was the outfit she used to wear while being a Pokemon hunter. She tossed it on top of the Guardian uniform. After a few years the style had become tacky. No way she would ever go out in that again.

After a few more minutes of rummaging, and covering her bed with random clothing, Nel was fully dressed, sporting a dress like outfit that was designed for the traveling Pokemon trainer. It was something Ember had bought her a little while after they had first met, saying that nice things were wasted on display in a shop window. All in all the outfit was pants and a sleeveless shirt with a pair of stocking like sleeves that went from her hands to just past her elbows. It was mostly black but had fine silver streaks running along the arm sleeves and down the legs in complex designs. Over this she buckled on her large leather belt and affixed her pokeballs to it.

"Life is so much better now that I actually pay attention to what I wear. I really don't know what I was thinking before," she said to herself, now moving to the closet to get one of her long jackets. Putting it on she realized that she had no idea where she thought she was going. It wasn't like she had anywhere she needed to be.

_'Might as well go visit Miranda,'_ she thought.

Walking through the Guardian headquarters was the same as it had been before. Everyone was doing something that completely preoccupied them. Nel walked past groups of Guardians practically unnoticed. She got in an elevator and pressed the button for the level with the medical center. Two female Guardians entered the elevator as well, pressing a different button. They were talking animatedly.

"So did you hear about Ember?"

"Yeah, she's walking the Path of the Seer isn't she? It's so amazing."

"I know, it's supposed to be happening right now! I wish I could watch."

"Come off it, you don't even know what it is to begin with."

Nel shook her head at the girls' excitement, though this was news to her. She would have to ask Ember about it when she got back. The girls got out first, leaving Nel alone in the elevator. She wondered how Miranda would react to her visit. She had said it wasn't Nel's fault but that was pure nonsense. There was no way that she didn't blame her. The elevator doors opened to the middle of the main medical floor. It looked just like a hospital ward. Nel walked through the halls passing the occasional doctor, head buried in their work. She finally came upon a nurse who was relaxing against a water cooler.

"Hello, I'm looking for Miranda Eon's room," said Nel, stopping in front of the woman. She finished her water then looked up.

"Miranda Eon? She's in a secure ward. You need special clearance to enter there," she said looking Nel up and down. "What's your name?" Nel grinned showing teeth.

"Nel."

The woman paled slightly. Of course Nel hadn't met every person in the base, but that didn't mean they wouldn't know her name.

"Uhh, follow me," said the nurse, moving quickly as if hoping that Nel would be left behind. They walked through a few halls until they came to a section that had a few guards and a reception counter. "Here, this is the place," said the nurse before promptly fleeing. Nel rolled her eyes and leaned on the counter.

"Hi, I'm here to visit Miranda Eon."

"Ah, you're Nel right?" said the woman at the counter, putting down her mug. "I heard you were involved with the incident as well, are you feeling well?" Nel was slightly taken aback. It wasn't often that someone on this base she didn't know directly could interact with her normally knowing who she was.

"Yes I'm fine, thank you," said Nel.

"That's good," said the woman. "Sorry for the question, it's a habit in my line of work. I'm Rose by the way." She turned to the guards. "You can let her in." Back to Nel she said, "Take your first left and Miranda Eon's room is the third on the right. It's room 17."

"Thanks." Nel walked through the doors, which locked shut behind her. She shook her head at the security and made her way to Miranda's room. She made to open the door but her hand stopped on the doorknob.

"You can come in," came a voice from inside, making Nel jump slightly. She opened the door slowly, to find Miranda sitting up in her bed. "Oh, Nel," she said, clearly surprised to see the woman. Nel shifted uncomfortably. Miranda was covered in bandages and had a large bruise on one side of her head. "Ah, it's not as bad as it looks," she said hastily, noticing Nel's stares.

"Are you... doing alright?" Nel cursed herself for her stupid question. Of course she wasn't, just look at the girl.

"Yes, the doctors here are really good," she said. "I heard from Holly that you've been locked in your room since we both got back. Have you been okay?" Miranda looked concerned. Not wanting to see such a face, Nel sat on the corner of the bed, looking back at the door.

"Yeah I've just been thinking. I didn't want to be disturbed." Miranda leaned back on her pillows wincing slightly. "Did the doctors say how long it'll take you to recover?"

"I should be fine in a few days," said Miranda smiling cheerfully. Nel watched her with a frown. They sat there in awkward silence. "You shouldn't look so down, I told you it wasn't-"

"Alright, I'm going to get going," said Nel quickly, making her way to the door. She turned to face the girl. "Just don't overdo it alright?" Miranda let out a small breath and smiled.

"Thank you for visiting me, Nel."

The door clicked shut behind her. The entire visit bothered her. Miranda was lying about something. Or maybe just not telling the whole truth. Nel noticed a nurse coming out of a nearby doorway and walked over to her.

"Excuse me, could you help me with something?" asked Nel, deciding to go with the polite approach. If she didn't want to talk there were ways of fixing that.

"Of course, what is it?" she asked.

"I was just visiting with Miranda Eon in room 17," explained Nel. "I was wondering what her condition is and what recovery is going to be like for her. Can you help me out?"

"I wasn't involved with her care, but I believe that the girl had one complication..." The nurse walked over to the door and pulled the file out of the bin attached to the wall. She flipped through it briefly and put it back. "Yes, she's suffering from a loss of her motor skills. It appears that her body underwent some serious electrical shock which messed with her nervous system. I guess this on top of physical damage caused her condition. She'll likely have to undergo rehabilitation to fully regain the use of her legs."

"You mean she's paralyzed?" said Nel, voice tight.

"No not paralyzed, just...numbed I guess?" said the nurse with a frown. She shook her head and smiled, rubbing Nel's arm. "Please don't be concerned. It certainly isn't life threatening and she will make a full recovery with time. Probably close to a few weeks or a month at the most of learning how to walk again and she'll be running around like new. Now if you'll excuse me..."

The nurse walked past Nel and around the corner. Nel didn't move for a while before she slammed the side of her fist into the nearby wall.

"Few days my ass."

XxxxX

Vince Korinek sat at the main computer in the private lab set aside specifically for studying Miranda Eon's DNA. He had been most pleased to find that the mission was a complete success. Although they didn't bring Miss Eon herself, the blood samples were just as good. He and his team had been working tirelessly to analyze her blood. It was everything he could have hoped. Looking back at all the time they wasted, Vince figured he should have just sent a small army to capture her years ago. Her blood was amazing. They could probably finish within a week of hard work. Maybe even less if they really pushed themselves.

"We were looking at it from the wrong angle the entire time," said Ernest, looking over Vince's shoulder. "It's not about changing something, it's about introducing something completely new. An additional sequence."

"Precisely," said Ronan. "It seems that Pokemon are all born with the harmonizing ability, however it was most likely removed from humans through evolution. Who knows why. Finishing the sequence will be easy now that we have a model. The real problem is-"

"How do we administer it to every human on the face of the planet?" piped Melody, sitting in a chair. "I'm really not so sure about that. I mean its pretty simple to have a virus spread, but we're talking about something that will alter every piece of DNA in a human's body. Can such a thing really be done?"

"Um..." everyone looked over at Arianna. "I've actually got an effective method of spreading the thing. If you guys can really produce a powerful mutagen then I can make it so that every person in a region gets it." Everyone stared at her.

"What are you, a terrorist?" said Melody flatly. Ernest whacked Melody over the back of the head.

"Please, Aria, tell me all about your method. I'm very interested in how it works," he said putting an arm around her shoulders. He gave Vince a nod and walked out of the lab with Aria. Vince grinned.

"Come on you two," he said, "lets get to work. We can use the Mk-I as a basis and build from there."

XxxxX

Nel walked down the main road in Element city. It ran from the top of the city to the bottom and passed by many main buildings and hotels. The north end of the road led directly to Element Airport. At the moment Nel was passing by some particularly tall hotels. They were the ones used to house the Pokemon trainers who were in the tournament. A sudden commotion at the base of one drew her attention.

"Come on man, you've got to tell me what's going on!" said a young man, clearly a Pokemon trainer. The person he was talking to looked to be an employee of the hotel they had just come out of.

"Listen, _Sir_," the employee said, voice tight with aggravation. "I have no idea where this woman is. We do not keep tabs on the people who stay here once they have left. _I cannot help you_. Please leave me alone." But it was useless.

"Argh, she's not just some random woman, she's the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia Shirona!" he said loudly. He sighed, seeming to deflate. "Look can you just do me a favor? If you or anyone else happens to see her, then tell her that Corey Spina is looking for her." He stalked off.

Corey Spina. The name prodded something in Nel's mind, but she couldn't put her finger on it... Suddenly she remembered the small snowy town all the way back in Sinnoh.

"Hey! Hey, Corey Spina!" Corey turned to find a woman with long silver hair walking towards him. He had never seen this woman before in his life, but his instincts were clamoring. He waited for her to catch up to him. "You are Corey Spina, right?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, of course I am. Who's asking?" he replied. Up close the woman was very pretty, her eyes blue like ice.

"I'm Nel," she said. "A while ago I passed through a small town all the way in the northern reaches of Sinnoh. There was a blizzard and I was given shelter by an old man and his granddaughter." Corey's expression had turned from suspicion to curiosity. "When I was about to leave, the old man asked me to hang onto a letter to give to a Corey Spina, if I ever met him here in Element." Nel reached inside her jacket and pulled out the envelope she had carried on her person every day since she had left the village. "I guess that would make this yours." Corey eyed the envelope in wonder. He took it and opened it slowly, reading carefully. Eventually he began to smile.

"Thank you," he said when he finished reading. He put the letter in his pocket with a smile. "That grandfather of mine is a crazy guy to think up something like that. It really was a long shot for me to get that letter."

"Well I'm glad I was able to hand it off," she said brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. "I'm going on a bit of a trip and I won't be returning to this city for some time. I'd probably have held onto that for the rest of my life."

"Where are you heading? If you don't mind me asking," he added, realizing that it wasn't really any of his business. But Nel only smiled.

"Do you really want to know?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said. Nel looked Corey dead in the eye.

"I'm going to go utterly destroy Vince Korinek and his band of thieves." Corey's jaw dropped. She laughed at his reaction. "Anyway, that's my plan so take care." Nel continued walking north. Corey stared at Nel's back for a long time before coming back to reality. He shook his head as what she said played back in his ears.

"Hey, Nel, wait up would you?" She looked back curiously.

"What?" Corey quickly caught up to her.

"I'm coming with you."

XxxxX

Cain sat at his desk in his office, going through reports. An icon blinked on his computer screen; he had an incoming call. Tapping it, the icon grew to fill the screen with a certain man's face.

"Vince Korinek, how are you doing today?" said Cain, leaning back in his chair.

"Very good. Indeed, it's been even better than good," he said. "We succeeded in recovering a large number of blood samples from Miranda Eon. They've been the breakthrough we needed. The mutagen will be completed very soon. We're running some tests now and the results are just unbelievable. It's working like magic. I'll even be able to send you a sample in two days."

"Excellent," said Cain, grinning broadly. "I knew you could do it, Vince." But Korinek shook his head.

"Well, if you hadn't provided me with all the information of the Eon tribe this never would have happened to begin with," he said with a shrug. "Then where would we be?"

"Certainly not where we are now," said Cain. "Have you come up with a method of delivery? We are targeting the entire world after all."

"Don't worry about it," said Vince. "One of my subordinates has developed an excellent delivery system. I'll let you know about it in detail at a later date. It's-" but he fell silent as Cain raised a hand, looking over the screen. there was a light knock at his door. Cynthia poked her head into his office.

"Cain, are you busy? I can come back later if you are."

"Just a second Cynthia," he said with a smile. "Let's continue our conversation later, my friend," he said to Vince, who picked up the lack of his name. He nodded and ended the communication. "Cynthia what brings you all the way over here? Is everything alright?" He motioned her to come in and sit down. She sat in a seat across his desk gratefully. Once again she was dressed in something extravagant.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Cain. During these past few days I've met so many members of the Royal Guardians...I'm not used to being treated like royalty," she admitted with a sigh. It was hard to get used to people bowing to her all the time and referring to her as a Princess. "At least you still treat me like a regular person and you don't call me Princess Cynthia." Cain stood up.

"Would you like to come for a walk through the garden with me?" he asked, holding out a hand. Cynthia looked at it for a moment before taking it.

"I'd be happy to."

Cain led her through the mansion and out into the back, her hand resting on his arm. They stopped at a small fountain and sat on a stone bench.

"What is on your mind, Cynthia? I can tell something is troubling you," said Cain kindly, placing a hand on her back. Cynthia looked at her lap, unsure of how to say what was going through her head. Glancing at Cain, she saw only someone wanting to help. Of course he was more than any someone.

"It really has been like a dream, these past few days," she began. "What girl doesn't dream of being a princess and having a handsome knight take care of her in a castle..." she flushed slightly and stood up, hiding her face. "But I have a life outside of this I can't leave behind. I'm the Sinnoh League Champion. I have a responsibility to every Pokemon trainer in Sinnoh, you know. And that's not it. That's only a small piece of my life. But none of that belongs here." She turned to Cain. "I don't feel that I belong here Cain. I do, but I don't. Do you understand?" Cain sighed softly and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Cynthia. I never fully considered your situation before putting such a burden on you. True you are Princess Cynthia, but before that you were Cynthia Shirona, and you still are her." He stood as well, bowing his head. "I hope that you can forgive me for what I've put you through."

"No, no. Cain no," Cynthia said forcefully. "It's not your fault. You take such good care of me and always give me good advise. Please don't blame yourself for anything." Cain looked up at her and moved closer, taking her hands in his.

"Cynthia, you have to understand. You've always meant so much to me. So much more than any other person...more than any other woman..." He drew closer, their faces less than a foot apart. Cynthia's brain was acting fuzzy. "You complete me like no one else can. Won't you stay with me?"

"I..." Cynthia could get no more out. Their faces were inches apart. Their lips barely brushed-

"Master Cain!"

They broke apart quickly. Cynthia faced away from him and the sound of the approaching maid. Her pulse was still beating a fast tempo against her body. What they had almost done... what they _had_ done.

"What is it?" said Cain to the maid, not a quiver in his voice betraying that something had just happened.

"You're scheduled guests have come. They just passed the first security checkpoint."

"Ah, thank you. Please arrange for them to be met."

"Yes, Master Cain." The maid left, silence following her wake.

"Guests have arrived that require us both present," he said after a moment. "Please, follow me, we don't have much time to prepare."

XxxxX

_Thirty minutes earlier_

Ash, Riley, and Leon made their way along a winding path leading deep into the forest. After spending the few days of wait at Leon's home, they set out to meet with Cain at his manor. Leon explained that it doubled as a base for the Royal Guardians, but was mainly used as Cain's home. He would certainly be there, and with any luck so would Cynthia.

"I still think this is a bad idea," said Ash, bringing up the rear of their group. Riley looked back at him with a sigh.

"Ash, we've been over this. If it's a trap, which it very well could be, then I wouldn't be surprised. If it isn't then it isn't. There really isn't anything we can do about the situation." He shrugged. "Plus we needed to meet with the leaders of the Royal Guardians as well so it's worked out for the better anyway."

"Right, right," said Ash with a grimace. It wasn't that he didn't want the meeting to happen, it was just difficult to remain calm when the person they were going to go have a chat with was the very person who ordered Cynthia's kidnapping.

"Come on you two, we're close," said Leon. They continued to walk in silence for a while. After about ten minutes, Ash and Riley saw a small building on the side of the wide path. As they approached, two men came out, each with a Lucario.

"Stop there," said one, holding out his hand. "State your purpose." Leon stepped forward.

"I work for Nier. I've been tasked with bringing these to to meet with Cain. He wishes to meet with them." The first guard who spoke looked at the other who nodded and went inside the building.

"I've been informed of your arrival. Proceed," he said, stepping aside.

"Thanks," said Leon. "Let's go you two."

The main building was magnificent. It was situated in a clearing of the forest and seemed to have a man made river running around it, twisting through and around elaborate gardens. The three made their way to the main entrance where they were greeted by a handful of guards and their Pokemon. The inside of the building was just as beautiful as the outside. Ash thought it was somewhat similar to the design of the mansion in Element City, though only a fraction of the size. They were led straight through the main room to a set of doors in the back.

"Mr. Bernhardt is waiting," said one of the guards, pushing them through. The doors were closed behind them.

"I'll wait here at the end of the room," said Leon. "I will lead you out when you are finished."

"Thank you," said Riley, eyes fixed on what was in front of them. A long carpet ran from the doors to what was clearly a throne. Someone sat in the throne and there was another standing beside it. Pikachu jumped down to the floor and walked next to the two men. Once they got to the foot of the steps Ash held back a small gasp.

"Cynthia," he said softly. Cynthia was sitting in the high backed chair wearing the most incredible dress he had ever seen in his life. He looked her up and down, trying to spot something wrong, but she looked perfectly normal. The man standing next to her was obviously Cain Bernhardt. Ash was somewhat taken aback by his noble appearance. After everything that happened he was expecting someone who looked a little more...evil.

Cynthia simply closed her eyes for a moment and said nothing. She had recognized the young man with the small yellow Pokemon riding his shoulder the moment he entered the room. Everything Cain had told her about the other group of Aura Guardians from the last few days was running through her mind. Ash couldn't really...

"Welcome, Guardians," said Cain after a moment. "I am Cain Bernhardt, leader of the Royal Guardians. The woman before you is Princess Cynthia Shirona. I will have you treat her with the utmost respect." Riley bowed slightly.

"You will find that won't be a problem," he said politely. "My name is Riley Gen, and this is Ash Ketchum. We both represent Her Majesty, Queen Ilene."

"I must thank you both for coming," said Cain with a nod. "I was honestly worried that such negotiations wouldn't be tolerated by the current Queen."

"The _current_ Queen?" muttered Ash. Riley shot him a quick look.

"Her Majesty does not wish for an open conflict," he said. "Quite frankly neither do I. As an Aura Guardian I stand for certain principles. Warmongering is not one of them."

"Unfortunately however, I'm afraid that an open conflict is what we are heading towards," said Cain. "The Royal Guardians have protected and served the lost bloodline for centuries. It has always been our ultimate goal to see that bloodline revived. As I also understand it, Queen Ilene has yet to produce an heir, male or female." Riley smiled.

"Then you should know that Her Majesty is to announce her pregnancy in a few days time," he countered. Everyone blinked at this piece of news. "Her Majesty gave me permission to share that piece of news, for better or for worse they should know," he explained to Ash.

"Regardless, it is not the issue if there is an heir. The problem is that it is _her_ heir," Cain said impatiently.

"Why are you doing this now?" asked Ash. "You haven't challenged the Crown at any point before, so why all of a sudden?"

"It suffices to say that we have the utmost faith in Princess Cynthia. I certainly believe that she would be an excellent queen. She possesses all of the abilities required in a great leader, and she has the charisma to match. The entire Royal Guardians support her unanimously. I have every confidence that your group of Guardians would support her too, with a little time."

"I don't understand why this is such an issue with everyone," said Ash. "One queen or another we are all Aura Guardians. We serve the world at large before any one person. A war between the protectors of all would cause a huge number of problems all over the world. That goes against everything we stand for." Riley sighed, hiding a smile. There really was only so much he could do to contain Ash. Cain however was not impressed.

"My boy, what you just said was so dangerously close to treason it worries me that you represent Queen Ilene."

"Yeah, well I've always been known for speaking my mind."

"Mr. Bernhardt, Ash, I believe we are getting off topic." interjected Riley. "We are all trying to prevent a conflict here, am I wrong?"

"Riley Gen, you are a true diplomat and I respect you for that," said Cain. "Unfortunately I am issuing an ultimatum. Queen Ilene is to relinquish the throne. The Royal Guardians will wait on this issue no longer. If it results in a civil war between Aura Guardians then so be it!"

"I'm sorry but the Queen won't step down from the throne," said Ash before Riley could respond. "Plus, I don't understand how you think the Royal Guardians could ever win this fight. You're so vastly outnumbered it wouldn't make a difference how good you all are. Plus," he added, "the Elders don't support you. They support us." Riley grimaced. Ash had said pretty much what he was going to, though much more bluntly. However, Cain just turned to Cynthia.

"Do you see? They have such control and power over everything, they are quick to show it off." He looked down at Ash. "That is not the mark of a good monarchy, nor is it the mark of a good Guardian of Aura." Ash clenched his fist in anger.

"Yes," said Cynthia softly, "it is exactly as you said. I wish it weren't so."

"Wha- Cynthia you don't honestly believe whatever he's been telling you about us!" said Ash, taking a step forward. "I promise you whatever it is, it's a lie. Come with me, you don't belong here."

"Your lack of respect is appalling," said Cain shortly. "I did not believe this would get us anywhere, but there was always a chance I could be wrong. It is too bad we could not end the situation right here. Princess?" He held out a hand for her to take, but Cynthia shook her head.

"I'll be along in a minute, I would like a word first." Cain bowed.

"As you wish," he straightened and walked out of the room through a side door. The moment the door closed Ash bounded up the steps, but was stopped when Cynthia stood, holding out a silk covered arm.

"Cynthia, are you alright? Has he done anything to you?" said Ash quickly. Cynthia frowned.

"Far less than you assume, Ash," she said angrily. "Cain Bernhardt is my oldest friend and my teacher. He would never do anything to harm me and has only provided me with the best care."

"I don't know if you are aware of this, but _he kidnapped you_," said Ash thickly. "Not to mention put you through that underwater building! How is that not harming you."

"You don't understand anything Ash. You don't know him!" Cynthia moved to the side of the throne and turned, her dress whirling. "What about you? Everything he's told me about the group of Guardians you belong to has been completely true. Cain wants a balanced world where no one group holds all the power, but that's exactly what the Guardians are! You said it yourself, Ash. The Guardians are completely in control." Ash was dumbstruck.

"What? That's not what I said," he argued. "You're twisting my words." Cynthia bit her lip. Her mind was toiling with conflicting feelings and facts. Ash let out a breath.

"I'm sorry, it's just been so much over these past few days," she said softly.

"Miss Shirona," said Riley, speaking to her for the first time, "You must believe me when I say that Cain's view of the Guardians is quite biased. It is true that we are a powerful group, but the same could easily be said for the Royal Guardians. I assure you the Queen does not abuse her power, and neither do we. I _am_ sorry for everything you have been going through recently. I wish I had known sooner so that we might be able to protect you."

"That may be true, but I know Cain would say the same about you. Anyway, you're missing the point," said Cynthia, sitting back down in the throne. "I haven't been harmed. I'm completely safe here. The way they all look to me, with so much faith and hope in their eyes..."

"Cynthia, listen to what you just said," said Ash, moving closer. "You really think you're safe staying with the leader of a group who just declared civil war?"

"He- Cain is-" but Ash was right, at least about that. But no... "I just can't believe that Cain would want to harm anyone. The situation must be bad enough to be forcing his hand. You don't know him like I do, Ash. You never could." Ash was getting extremely frustrated. Cain this, Cain that. Just what was so great about that rich guy anyway?

"Don't you- Don't you know how worried I've been about you?" he managed. Cynthia looked down again. "Listen, come back with me to Element City," Ash said. "I had to leave Miranda alone and I'm worried about her safety. Korinek's been a lot more active lately too. Once everything's calmed down we can-" But Cynthia's eyes went cold.

"That girl is always in the back of your head, isn't she?" she spat, looking at the floor.

"What are you talking about?" said Ash, taken aback by the sharpness of her words.

"I'm through with this," she said clutching her arms. "Go back to Element with you? And then what? I'm tired of being second best to some girl that I could never- that you'll never let go of. Do you think I want to go back to that?" she shouted, forcing Ash back a step. "At least here I have someone who completely cares about me, and only me!"

"Cynthia please, this is crazy-"

"Go, Ash Ketchum. You oppose the Royal Guardians and I'm their Queen, so I guess that means you oppose me now too." Cynthia walked past him, brushing by his shoulder. "But I guess you never were on my side to begin with, were you," she said softly. Ash just stood there, frozen in place.

The door clicked open, and slammed shut.


	19. Retaliation

Chapter 19

"What the hell!"

There was silence. Ash looked from Riley to Leon, but neither would say anything. They were back in Leon's house again after a silent trip back from the manor. Occasionally Riley or Leon had said something, but Ash remained silent. None of them spoke of what just happened. Now, however, it seemed he could contain his frustration no longer.

"Why would she go and do something like that!" he continued, pacing back and forth. Leon made to say something but Riley motioned for him not to. He had only ever seen Ash like this once before, during the time Ash had come to him for some specialized Aura training. Experience told him it was better to remain quiet. "I mean she doesn't know the situation that well, but how could she believe that we're the bad guys. That _I'm_ a bad guy!"

"Ash, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet," said Riley in a tired voice. "This isn't our home you know." Ash stopped pacing and looked at his feet, almost as if he were seeing the path he was etching into the threads.

"Sorry," he said, equally tired, now collapsing into a large recliner. "Dammit all..."

"You look like you could use a drink," said Leon, standing up with a stretch. "I'll make you something."

"I'll make something too," said Riley, following him out of the room. They walked down the hall to the kitchen. While Leon began rummaging in the fridge Riley leaned against the door frame.

"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting what happened either," said Leon, coming out of the fridge with a multitude of bottles. "I've never seen Cynthia like that my whole life."

"Yeah, I suppose so," said Riley, moving next to the man to watch his mixing. Past conversations with Ash coupled with recent events had quickly shown that Ash knew Cynthia much more than he first let on. Not that it really mattered, but if they were close in some way and she was still unable to leave the grasp of the Royal Guardians the situation was more serious than he would have hoped for. What kind of relationship did she have with Cain to cause such a thing to happen?

"Did he tell you anything before?" asked Leon, passing Riley a freshly made drink. The younger man eyed it suspiciously.

"Not really... What is this?" he said, giving the glass a small shake. The mixture was of an indescribable color and texture. Leon put his now finished glass on the counter and began to make another.

"It's a Shirona Special." Scanning the various containers that were on the counter, Riley raised his eyebrows.

"That doesn't make me want to drink it." Leon slapped Riley on the back hard enough to almost make him drop the glass.

"Don't be a baby. Now drink it, it's good for you," he said.

"Wait," said Riley quickly, putting down the glass. Leon paused at the doorway. "I need to make a report to the queen. Do you have a vid-phone I can use here? Some people have them in their homes." But Leon shook his head.

"Sorry, the house is a bit antiquated," he said. "If it has to be tonight then take the road from the house to the main road and go right. You'll get to the Pokemon Center after twenty minutes or so."

"Great thanks," said Riley, following Leon into the hall and grabbing his hat off of a coat peg.

"Sorry I don't have a car. I lost it years ago," said Leon, shaking his head sadly. "Ah well, walking's better for your health." He watched Riley leave the house, latching the door behind him, before making his way back to the living room. Looking over to the recliner he saw that Ash wasn't there. "Ash?" he said, looking around. He walked through the room to the dining room and back into the main hallway. Poking his head into another room he felt a small breeze coming through the back door leading to the rear deck. Ash sat outside, leaning back in a chair and looking up at the sky. Dusk was falling and a few of the brighter stars could actually be seen in the darkening sky. Leon walked over and took a seat beside him.

"Got your drink, kid," he said shortly, holding out the glass. Ash took it, not really looking.

"Thanks." He took a big swig before almost gagging. About to spit it out, he glanced at Leon before changing his mind and swallowing. "What on earth is this?"

"Shirona Special. Secret recipe, so don't ask," Leon added as Ash opened his mouth. "It's not bad you know, just...surprising." Ash considered the murky liquid.

"Suppose so," he said, taking another swig. Leon raised his eyebrows, impressed with his fortitude. It was a hard drink. Silence stretched between them for a while, Ash occasionally swigging from the glass. When he finished it he said, "I feel pretty proud of myself for finishing that. No offense."

"None taken," said Leon. Silence stretched out again. "So..."

"I suppose you want to know about my relationship with Cynthia, right?" said Ash, matter-of-factly. Leon frowned.

"In a manner of speaking, yeah," he said.

"It's kind of complicated and I might start rambling," said Ash. Leon shook his head with a sigh.

"Then I'll be more direct. Are you involved with my daughter?" Ash didn't need to look at Leon to know he was wearing a Dad face.  
"I'd say no, but it's not that simple," said Ash, unsure how to phrase what he was trying to say. This was awkward to begin with. "I think there's something there, or at least there _was_ something there. Don't know about that after today," he added dejectedly. "There were times I thought something would happen, but it never did. I dunno..."

"Ah to be young again," he said, looking up at the sky poetically. "So, how long have you known Cynthia?"

"I met her years ago when I was competing in the Sinnoh League. I was only just fifteen at the time. Seems like eons ago really," said Ash, remembering how he used to travel around with Brock and the others. "She was, well still is, the Sinnoh League Champion so it was really exciting to meet her. I'd never seen a more powerful trainer in my life. She thrashed my current rival in seconds, it was awesome." He couldn't help but smile at the image of an angry Paul. Considering that they had met recently, Paul really hadn't changed at all from when they were younger. Ash wondered if he had changed or not.

"Anyway, we ran into each other a bunch more times while I was still in the Sinnoh region. We became friends, but we weren't really close until the incident with the Dark Guardians five years ago. Do you know about that?" he asked, turning to Leon. He shook his hand slightly.

"Kind of. I was working with the Royal Guardians, but I wasn't directly involved with the rogue group," he said. "I didn't realize that Cynthia was involved in it."

"She wasn't, at least not directly," he amended, considering the event. "It's a bit interesting how everything played out because at the time I had no knowledge of the Guardians nor did I really know or understand much about Aura. At the outset of the situation Cynthia came to me after I lost to my rival in the Sinnoh Conference and asked for my help with something important. Turns out a close friend that she made a while before that was in trouble and she needed help from someone with a lot of Aura. Apparently she gave Cynthia something that would help her find someone and it led her to me. I found out later that this girl was part of an organization and the world was in peril and blah blah blah..." Ash trailed off waving his hand in the air. Watching the boy, Leon couldn't help but laugh.

"Did Cynthia ever learn about the Guardians?" he asked, curious now.

"Not really," said Ash. "The Dark Guardians were more or less a bad group and we took care of them, saving her friend in the process, but other than that Cynthia really wasn't the wiser. I know her friend didn't want her to get involved. Who knows, maybe she knew about Cynthia at the time?" Ash shrugged. "Doesn't really matter now. Cynthia's about as involved as it gets."

"You still haven't told me how she was involved with _you_," said Leon pointedly.

"I'm getting there," said Ash quickly. He made a mental note that if they ever got out of this entire situation he would have a few things to say to Cynthia about her overly curious father. Apart from the fact that he was alive, of course. "After the event with the Dark Guardians I split with everyone I knew to train my Aura. The next time I saw Cynthia was over four years later, during the recent Pokemon Tournament on Element Island. I wasn't a kid anymore and things just kind of developed. Or at least I think they did. Like I said, nothing actually happened."

"I see," said Leon, scratching his chin. "So who's Miranda?"

"A girl I met after the Dark Guardian incident. She's been traveling around with me for the past four years," responded Ash. He put a hand to his forehead as Leon put two and two together.

"Ahh, the complication... Oh to be young again, chased by so many flowers of beauty."

"What are you, some kind of poet?" Ash shot at the man who just laughed.

"You know I was just like you when I was young," he said, patting Ash's shoulder fondly. "I did my own thing but I always had girl problems. Girls trying to spend time with me and flirting all the time, but they were sometimes difficult to deal with."

"Somehow I really don't think that was the case," said Ash, but Leon continued as if didn't hear Ash.

"More to the point though I was in a situation where I liked two girls fairly equally. It caused a good amount of stress for me and them, but something happened that ended everything right there."

"And what was that?" asked Ash.

"Met Cynthia's mother, most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on. Completely forgot about the other two girls."Ash sighed. "Look Ash," said Leon, more serious now, "I don't pretend to be a world expert of women, but if there's something life has taught me its that they all deserve the absolute truth. There's nothing worse than causing someone grief because you were too weak of heart to face the situation. All you have to do is ask yourself exactly what those two mean to you, and then act on it. Nothing more, nothing less."

Ash sat there and stared at Leon. If there was any doubt in his mind that Cynthia wasn't his daughter, it was completely gone now. He couldn't help but remember the short, albeit powerful, lecture Cynthia herself had given him five years ago after he lost in the Sinnoh Conference. He let out a breath.

"I'll admit that I was a bit afraid of how that was going to end, but I feel better. Thanks Leon." Ash stood up. "I just need to think this through."

"Well you'll have plenty of time for that," came a voice behind them. Apparently Riley had finally returned. "Have you both been out here since I left?"

"You couldn't have gone all the way to the Pokemon Center and back in such a short amount of time," said Leon pointedly, also standing. "Did you forget something?"

"No I made it there," said Riley, leaning against the side of the house. "I have a contact at the Pokemon center who gave me a lift most of the way back here." He faced Ash and said, "Orders from the top: Stand down and lay low. Don't provoke the Royal Guardians and don't attack them."

"What? But the situation will just get worse after time," argued Ash. Riley shook his head.

"I agree, but what can we really do," said Riley. "We are trying to _avoid_ a confrontation. It isn't our way to start fights. Especially not ones that will lead to war."

"Yeah, but that's not a solution," said Ash. "Just how long do we sit idle while being threatened. Aura Guardians aren't cowards."

"Don't get me wrong Ash," said Riley, turning to go inside. "I said I don't like fights, but I didn't say I wouldn't fight if I had to. I'm never one to start something, but I'll _always_ finish it." The back door swung shut behind him. Ash sighed.

"Riley's a lot more hard core than he lets on, you know?" he said to Leon. Leon put a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Kid, I'm sure you know this just as well as anyone, but anyone considered an Aura Knight usually comes in one flavor." Ash grinned.

"Yeah, badass." Leon smacked Ash over the back of the head, hiding a grin of his own.

"Watch your mouth kid. Now let's go inside and make some food, I'm starving. You have any idea how to cook?"

XxxxX

Four days later

Miranda lowered herself into a wheelchair. Though she could shakily stand on her own, movement was a whole different matter entirely. She was three days into her rehabilitation. It was very difficult, but the fact that she could stand was apparently a really good thing. The doctors said that her recovery was going much faster than they expected. Of course she still had at least two more weeks of trying to walk on legs that just wouldn't function the way she remembered they were supposed to.

"Comfortable?"

Miranda looked up into the face of a woman who heavily confused her. Her name was Aria, Vice Commander Holly's older sister and Chief of the Medical Division. It wasn't her position that confused her, it was, well...

"I actually built that wheelchair myself you know. When I was younger I used to ride around in wheelchairs all the time. Not that I needed one, mind you. I just liked having the fun of riding around in one. But they were all really uncomfortable when you sat in them for a long time. It made me feel bad for all the people who actually didn't have a choice about sitting in a wheelchair. So I designed a super comfortable and cool looking wheelchair. Of course there's only one of its kind so do be careful with it. Not that it's going to break. It's built to withstand speeds of up to fifty miles per hour. I mean it's not like I expect you to go racing with it or anything but..."

Miranda simply blinked and watched the hyperactive and free spirited woman talk, somewhat in awe. She didn't know that the human brain could process so many thoughts at once. It was impressive and scary at the same time. Did she ever ramble like that to anyone before? Unbidden, images of times when she had ranted about something to Ash for an entire meal came into her mind. She closed her eyes. How embarrassing. The door suddenly opened, ending both Miranda's train of thought and Aria's express train of speech. Ember walked in, closely tailed by Sonia and Holly.

"Hey, Sis," said Aria cheerfully with a little wave at the shorter woman. Holly closed her eyes for a moment, taking a breath. Ember hid a smile. "And Sonia and Ember, too! Ember, no wait. Seer, congratulations. Though I'll admit I liked the title Reader better." Aria gave Ember a deep bow. Ember rolled her eyes and hugged the woman lightly.

"Thank you Aria, but please it's just a title. I have a long way to go before I can truly call myself a Seer. Hello Miranda," she added, looking at the young woman in the wheelchair. Seeing here sit there patiently pulled at her heart. She still regretted not having been there during the attack.

"Hey Ember, has everything been going alright?" asked Miranda, wheeling herself forward. Aria went over to put an arm around a disgruntled Holly while Sonia watched in amusement. Ember shrugged.

"As well as it could be, considering the situation." Miranda inched forward a bit more.

"Do you have any news about Nel?" Ember's face fell. When she and her father had returned two days ago to discover that Nel had vanished without warning, they had put every effort in to finding out where she had gone. They quickly discovered that she had left Element Island on a plane heading for the Sinnoh region. That news, coupled with what Miranda had said about her visit only brought her to one conclusion. Nel was after the Hunter Corps. Gabriel had immediately sent a large team of Guardians in one of the Guardian's airships to Sinnoh to bring her back before she did anything stupid, though if that wasn't an option they were instructed to provide assistance.

"I'm sorry, but nothing new," said Ember truthfully. It was too soon for them to get any sort of report on the situation. "Same goes with Ash," she added before Miranda could ask. "I mean, what Ash is dealing with is essentially out of our hands, so we won't be getting much news to begin with." Miranda looked down into her lap. Ember bit her lip. She hadn't come here to make the girl sad. "Anyway, I'm here about you're request to see the Commander. He's put me in charge of your care," she finished with a shrug. What her father did was often a mystery to her.

"Oh," said Miranda. "In that case, please let me go outside of the mansion. I don't want to stay here all the time." The other women were now listening as well. Ember scratched her chin in thought. At face, letting the prime target of the Hunters go around outside of Guardian walls while in a wheelchair no less... well it was pretty ridiculous. Still, Miranda knew this so...

"I understand if you want me kept safe here in the mansion," she continued. "But I'm not, well I'm no longer a target. Korinek got what he wanted and the fact that the Hunters haven't done anything else supports it."

"You can't be sure of that," said Ember, crossing her arms.

"Yeah I know, but I still want to go outside," said Miranda stubbornly. Ember shook her head. She really could be like her brother sometimes.

"Alright, you can go outside."

"Yeah but- really?" Ember laughed at the silly look on Miranda's face.

"Yeah, really," she said. "Obviously I won't let you out alone though. I'm assigning Sonia as your personal guard along with Aria. Aria will double as your on site doctor in case anything happens while you are out."

"Don't worry, we'll have a lot of fun in the city," said Sonia, finally speaking. Her silence was beginning to make Miranda a bit nervous. She hadn't spent much time around the older woman. "I won't make you keep to certain roads or anything. Don't forget I have to go with you all over the place."

"I know I'll have fun driving you around everywhere," said Aria cheerfully moving to the back of the wheelchair. "So why did Holly come along?" Ember rolled her eyes.

"She's just here to make sure I don't do anything stupid or overly childish, as my father put it."

"That was not specifically what he said, but the meaning is the same," said Holly simply. She quickly ducked as a pillow sailed past her head. "Aria!"

"So antisocial," said Aria, grabbing onto the handles of the wheelchair. Instincts told Miranda to hold on tight. "Let's get her, Miranda." Holly took a step backwards, hand moving automatically to the doorknob.

"Wait, we really don't have to-"

"Ariaaaa!"

Ember and Sonia both sweatdropped as Holly quickly escaped the room, chased by her older sister and a helpless Miranda. Ember looked over at Sonia.

"I believe Miranda seems to be in danger," she said, moving to the door. She had the smallest of grins on her face. "I'll leave it to you then, bodyguard." The door clicked shut behind Ember, muffling the sounds of women shouting down the halls. Sonia put a hand to her forehead.

"Just wait until you go to sleep, Ember. Just wait."

XxxxX

About an hour later, Miranda was being pushed lazily down a street through one of the most popular open markets in the city. The wide area was filled with rows and rows of stalls selling anything from clothing to organic food to trainer accessories. There were also plenty of places to eat. Apparently it was Aria's favorite place to go and with Aria pushing her all over the city, Miranda didn't mind going along with her whims. Of course, there would be no more chasing people with the wheelchair, much to Miranda's relief. Sonia had not been happy when she caught up to an out of breath Aria and a wild looking Holly. Or at least, wild looking for one as formal as Holly could be. Now she walked a few feet behind the two other women, keeping one eye on the crowd around them for signs of trouble.

"Hey, let's stop there," said Miranda, pointing to a small shop that had all sorts of candles piled in shelves and tables. Sonia took point at the edge of the stall like she usually did and Aria pushed Miranda under the tent roof. The wonderful aroma coming off of the lit candles made Miranda feel at peace. Picking up a small green one labeled mint leaf, she noticed another girl bent over one of the tables. Something about her looked very familiar...

"Dawn? Is that you?" Dawn stood up and looked around curiously. Her face brightened when she saw who had said her name.

"Miranda! It's been forever, we were wondering what happened to- Oh my god what happened?" she exclaimed, suddenly realizing what Miranda was sitting in.

"Dawn? Is everything alright?" came a man's voice from outside the tent. Brock quickly entered, looking around. He spotted them immediately. Sonia poked her head in, watching closely.

"Brock, it's Miranda," she said, waving him over. "And she's in a wheelchair! What happened?" Miranda shook her hands.

"Don't worry I'm alright," she said quickly. "It's a long story and I haven't seen you both for a while. Why don't we catch up?" To Aria she said, "Can you take us to a place with tables?"

"Sure thing Mira," she said cheerfully. Five minutes later Dawn, Brock, and Aria all sat at a small table with Miranda positioned next to it in her wheelchair. Sonia opted to stand.

"Well before we get anywhere, this is Aria and Sonia," Miranda said, pointing to each of them in turn. "And this is Brock and Dawn. They're close friends of Ash," she explained to the women.

"I see," said Sonia with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," said Brock. "So tell us Miranda, what's been going on? We haven't heard anything from anyone about you or Ash. I know most people in the tournament have left for their homes already, but I didn't think Ash would just go without seeing everyone one last time."

"What happened to everyone else anyway?" asked Miranda.

"Brock and I are actually leaving tomorrow," said Dawn. "May and Max went back with their parents and Misty and the others all had to get back to the Gyms and stuff."

"Sorry that we didn't get to say goodbye," said Miranda, feeling sad that she didn't get to see everyone again. "Things have been pretty crazy lately." She wasn't really too sure of what to say. She knew that she couldn't tell them about what really happened. If she tried, Sonia would probably stop her anyway. Regardless it was best they didn't know. Plus she didn't want them to get involved, and Ash's friends all seemed to be the type who would. "Ash had to leave Element Island so quickly for something really important that I didn't even get to properly say goodbye to him. And I, well..." She put a hand behind her head and laughed. "I kind of fell through a roof."

"Fell through a roof? What were you doing on a roof?" said Dawn, wide-eyed. Brock shook his head.

"At least tell me you won't be in that wheelchair forever," he said with a frown. Miranda shook her head.

"No, it's just for a few weeks, then I'll be good as new," she replied with a small smile.

"Well that's good," said Dawn. "Why don't we spend the rest of the afternoon together? It'd be good to have another girl around to get fashion opinions from. No offense, Brock," she added apologetically. Brock shook his hands.

"None taken, trust me," he said. "But before you two get lost in clothing let's stop a one of the Pokemon food shops, I want to get a few new recipes."

Sonia smiled slightly as the four others made their way back into the thick of the market. She gave a quick scan of the area before following a few feet behind. No problems to speak of. Perhaps Miranda had been right. Maybe she wasn't as important to the Hunters as she had been before she was attacked. Whatever the case, she only hoped that Miranda wouldn't have to go through anything like that again.

XxxxX

Hundreds of miles away, another woman was thinking about Miranda. Over the last few days of slow traveling to the Sinnoh region, the girl continued to pop into Nel's mind. She couldn't shake the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, it was so uncomfortable. She just tried to focus on the thought of what Vince Korinek's face would look like when he found out who it was who was destroying his operations.

"Are we close yet?"

Nel looked over at her companion. He lay on Salamance's wide back, staring up at the sky as the clouds rushed past. Once they had gotten to Mt. Coronet they had switched to Nel's Salamance. He would be able to take them the rest of the way without drawing any attention to their approach.

"Nearly there. If I remember correctly we're about ten minutes out," said Nel. Corey leaned his head back, looking Nel in the eye. She gazed back, waiting for him to ask whatever was on his mind.

"You know, I told you why I'm here but you never said why _you_ were doing this," he said after a second. "What did the Hunters ever do to you?" Nel held his gaze for a moment before breaking it, turning to face forward again.

"They... hurt someone," she said after a second. Corey sat up, rubbing his shoulders.

"That's all?" he asked, though the tone of his voice did not belittle what she said. Nel turned her head, glancing back at him.

"That's all," she said darkly. Salamance suddenly gave a low growl. Nel quickly looked around. "Get ready to land. We're here." They swooped low to the mountainside. The rocky surface flowed under them like a river of rock. Nel motioned for Corey to hold on as they slowed, still staying very close to the rock. They eventually came to a stop, hopping down from Salamance as Nel recalled him.

"Why did we get so low all of a sudden?" asked Corey, looking around at the landscape. It was typical of a mountainside.

"We flew in under radar," explained Nel, beginning to walk in a seemingly arbitrary direction. "The only reasonable way to get here is by air so there's radar to make sure nothing ever catches them by surprise. I highly doubt Vince got rid of it."

"I see," said Corey, scratching his chin. "Well it's a good thing I came with you then. But wait, how do you know about the Hunter's defenses?" he shot suddenly. "I mean I was here a couple of times when I was working with them but I still didn't know a thing about their security systems."

"Well of course I know about the security systems, I-"

"You what?" Corey frowned at Nel curiously, but she just shook her head.

"It's unimportant, let's move. It's just over this ridge here."

The two of them moved slowly around a pile of rocks, making their way over the crest of the small hill they were on. Corey's eyes went wide. Filling the small valley was a group of tightly clustered buildings, partially set into the rock face. A road fed into a tunnel leading down and into the mountain. On the other side it led to a high wall and a gate with a guard station. It looked like the only way to get to the base by ground. Corey tapped Nel on the shoulder.

"So, what can you tell me about this?" he asked, jerking his thumb at the facility. "Any crazy lazer turrets or other area defenses?" Nel simply pointed at the security towers positioned at the corners of the walls. Corey squinted at them. Underneath each platform was a ceiling mounted turret. "Wait seriously? Laser turrets?"

"You asked didn't you?" said Nel, settling herself comfortably into a crevice of rock. Looking down at the road.

"Well since you seem to know everything, what's the plan?" Corey said, rolling his eyes. "Aren't there any less conspicuous ways of getting into there? I mean there's got to be one or two side entrances. It's a secret base." Nel stretched as she stood.

"Of course there are, follow me," she said, making her way down to the area below. Not feeling completely comfortable about any of this, Corey followed her closely.

"Nel, we're in plain sight," he said after a second, watching the two turrets track their movement.

"Don't worry, they won't shoot someone on sight. It wouldn't be good if every lost soul who came up here disappeared when they got to the supposed Weather Research Center. They have to keep up appearances after all." Corey nodded in understanding. "Plus, of course they see us. We're going in the front door."

"Of course, they would have to see us then- wait what?" exclaimed Corey. Suddenly he felt less safe.

"Just shut up and stay calm," said Nel, leading the way to the guard station outside the entrance. Corey could see there were two guards sitting in the booth, both watching them approach. One guard exited the booth as they got close.

"Hey, this is a restricted area," he said loudly with authority. From the look he was giving them they didn't get visitors often. "Turn around on your own before I help you along."

"That's no way to speak to a guest of Vince Korinek's," said Nel with a frown. Corey said nothing. Clearly she had a plan, he only hoped it wouldn't get him killed.

"Vince Korinek?" repeated the guard with a laugh. "Miss, I'm sorry but you won't find the second in command of the Pokemon Hunter group here. This is a research facility. It's for monitoring weather. Now I'll give you one last warning. Leave before I call a security team."

"Very good, but I know this is the secret base of the Hunter Corps, and I know for a fact that Vince Korinek leads it," said Nel crossing her arms. "He did have Hunter J killed years ago after all." The guard blinked in surprise. It appeared he was starting to have doubts about these intruders. "Now, will you allow me to enter or will I have to explain to Vince why I was delayed for so long?" Corey watched the guy sweat at the thought. Nel, whoever she was, knew too much about the Hunter Corps and the facility to be some random person. Maybe she used to be a member of the Corps?

"Fine, I'll radio it in. What's your name?" said the guard after a second. The moment he turned his back Nel grinned and reached behind her back for a pokeball.

"It's Nel, but that won't be necessary. Gengar, Hypnosis!" The guard didn't have a chance. He fell to the ground as he reached for his weapon. The other guard ran out of the booth, throwing a pokeball.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" The attack engulfed the area where Gengar stood, completely obscuring him from view. The guard smirked at Nel. "Not smart to attack the Corps."

"Gengar," said Nel shortly. Gengar rose out of the ground behind the guard, hitting the Houndoom with a Shadow Ball attack. The Pokemon sank to the ground instantly.

"But how?" cried the guard. "Ghost moves don't work on dark type Pokemon!"

"The difference in power is just too great," said Corey, shaking his head. The guard fell to another Hypnosis attack moments later. "You have a very strong Gengar," he said to Nel, eyebrows raised in interest. Ten minutes ago this may have surprised him, but at this moment he almost expected something like that to happen.

"Drinking milk will make your bones grow strong, you know," said Nel, walking into the guard booth. Corey shook his head.

"You could at least say that when your Pokemon actually has bones..." Walking in to the booth as well he heard the radio crackle.

"Guard booth, respond. Have the intruders been dealt with?" Nel shrugged at Corey.

"It appears they didn't notice what happened," she said. "It's possible we were too close to the wall for the towers to see." She went to press the button to respond to the radio call, but Corey instantly grabbed her wrist. A chill ran down his spine. This was not safe.

"Why don't I take care of this," he said quickly. "You've done a lot already so take a small break." He let go of her wrist as she eyed him, calculating. What was she thinking?

"Dammit, how many times do I have to tell these front door guards to respond promptly?" came a muffled voice through the radio. Corey quickly pressed the button.

"I'm sorry, Sir," he said, making his voice as much like the guard's as he could remember. "We took care of the intruder but were injured in the process. Could we get some medical assistance?" Nel readjusted her shirt. It worked for her.

"You sound awful, that's for sure," said the man on the other side of the radio. "What happened to the the intruders?"

"Uhh, we have them secured for questioning or transport," said Corey quickly.

"Alright, good work. I'll open the gate and you guys can come in to get looked over. I'll also have someone here take over the front gate." A loud mechanical sound whirred and the double doors of the metal gate slid apart.

"Piece of cake," said Corey. They ran into the compound before they could get locked out again. They made their way to the nearest building and hid in it's shadow. Corey pointed to two guys who made their way slowly to the gate; the guards' replacements. "Come on, let's try to get inside before we get caught again." Nel led the way quickly to the back of the courtyard. There were a number of buildings built into the mountainside. Suddenly an alarm sounded.

"They were probably woken up," Nel said, looking over her shoulder. "We should hurry inside before-"

"Too late," said Corey. Five Hunters came out of the building just in front of them and noticed them immediately, pulling out pokeballs.

"There's more behind us," said Nel. "They've closed the gate too, though it's not like I was leaving." She patted Corey on the back and continued towards the main building. "Shall we press forward?"

"Absolutely," he said, pulling a pokeball out. "Raichu, clear us a path would you?" Raichu blasted multiple Thunderbolts at their attackers, shocking all of them into submission. Nel and Corey ran past them as they recovered from the sudden attack, making their way straight into the building.

"You have a very strong Raichu," said Nel as they ran deeper into the building. They could hear the chaos they had left behind them fade away slowly. Corey grinned.

"Something tells me you're making fun of me," he said. Nel just shrugged.

"Here," she said suddenly, coming to a stop. They had arrived at a set set of elevators. "This should take us a few floors down to the main complex. Once those doors close there's no going back." She stepped into the elevator. "You sure you don't want to go home now?"

"Why would I leave after coming this far?" asked Corey. He could hear Hunters getting closer, sweeping the halls.

"You might die." Nel looked at Corey in the eyes and he stared back, unmoving. The elevator doors slowly began to close. She sighed and looked down. Good, it would be better this way. However the doors suddenly opened again. Corey came in and leaned against the wall of the elevator.

"Not a chance," he said. "Not when it's both of us."

XxxxX

Aero was very frustrated. He had been watching a really good movie when he got the intruder alert flashing on his monitor. Fingers typing rapidly on a keyboard he brought up images of the intruders. There were two of them: a man and a woman. The woman he didn't recognize, however the man was obvious. What in the world was Corey Spina doing there. How did he even find the base? The only times he had ever been here he was securely locked up in a room in an airship and was taken straight to the hanger. Yet here he was in the main entrance for personnel.

"Aero, what's going on?"

Vince Korinek's face appeared on one of his monitors. Aero turned to him, still typing away.

"We have a pair of intruders who made somehow made it in through the main gate. One of them is Corey Spina, the other is a woman I don't know." Aero looked back at another montior. "I'm doing a cross check now, but nothing is coming up."

"Normally I would love to be a part of their arrest but unfortunately I don't have the luxury today," said Korinek. "As you know the project has been finished and I'm on my way to rendezvous with Cain. Preparations are still going slow but steady."

"Sir, the shipment was loaded," came a voice near Korinek. He looked to his side and nodded.

"Good, launch and continue with the next one. We're right on schedule." Turning back to Aero he said, "Listen Aero, stop those intruders. I don't care how you do it, just do it. And whatever you do, make sure they stay away from the hanger." The screen blinked out. Aero sat back in his chair with a sigh. He knew a little of Korinek's plan with Cain but it really didn't have much bearing on him. It wasn't like he actually cared about the future of the human race anyway. He turned his attention to the keyboard.

"Might as well help security catch these two."

XxxxX

When the elevator doors opened, the the group of Hunters backed away slightly in surprise. Smoke poured out of the doors, obscuring the area. Shadows in the smoke moved quickly and cries of pain added to the confusion. Lightning arced through the smoke, lighting specific areas and making others darker. A minute later and all was silent. The ventilation system seemed to be purging the smoke, making the area easier to see. Corey stood next to his Magmortar amidst unconscious Hunters and Pokemon. His right sleeve was scorched from one of the Hunter's Pokemon's lightning, but otherwise he was fine. Nel was completely untouched, her Ariados hanging from the ceiling, equally unharmed.

"It'll only be a minute before more of them come, where do we go?" asked Corey. Nel pointed to their right.

"We need to go down two floors in this area then head to the deepest part of the complex," she said, making her way to the other end of the room. "This opens up into the main area of the base." They passed through the doors into an open area laid out much like a multi-leveled mall. There were wide areas all around the sides of the room with halls leading off into the base. The center of the room was an open hole that went down a few floors. If Nel was remembering this correctly, the bottom floor here was a dining area. What she didn't remember was there being blue sky and sunlight stretching above them.

"But I thought we were deep underground!" said Corey, completely thrown by the spectacle. All around them were windows that looked out onto fields and forests. It looked like they were in a building that was on the top of a grassy hill in the middle of untouched nature.

"Impressive, isn't it?" More Hunters surrounded them, all calling out Pokemon. The one in front continued to speak. "You seem to know your way around the base, but clearly your information is a little out of date. Machoke, Cross Chop!"

"Magmortar, intercept it!" shouted Corey, pulling another pokeball from his belt. "Empoleon, Ice Beam!" Magmortar quickly jumped in front of Nel and Ariados, neutralizing Machoke's attack and knocking him back into his trainer. Empoleon blasted their entire left side with the Ice Beam, catching most of the Hunters and their Pokemon in the ice. The few trainers left on their right commanded their Pokemon to attack Nel as well.

"Drapion, stop them," she said, quickly throwing her pokeball out. Drapion materialized in the middle of the group rapidly spinning and knocking his opponents far away with his long arms.

"No way, they're just too strong," said one of the defeated Hunters. "We're going to need an army!"

"Has it ever occurred to any of you that you might just all suck? Don't any of you ever train?" said Corey, recalling Magmortar, but keeping Empoleon at his side. "Nel, let's move. Empoleon and I will cover our backs."

"Alright, follow me closely," said Nel, moving to the stairs at the side of the room. "Ariados, make sure there isn't anyone waiting for us." Ariados moved ahead of them, down the stairs and out of sight. Seconds later they could hear shouts from Hunters below. "Come on Drapion, I need your muscle."

They all ran down the stairs, ducking long ranged Pokemon attacks and retaliating as best they could. After Ariados easily confined everyone near the stairs with heavy web, combined with the almost instant thrashing of anyone he didn't get to, none of the Hunters would get any closer than medium range to Nel and Corey. It wasn't like most of these Hunters were even prepared to face trainers of their caliber to begin with. A good number of them were just wearing casual clothing and not carrying Pokemon at all. This made getting to the bottom floor much easier than Nel had thought it would be. Of course security would just get steadily heavier once they got closer to their destination.

Upon reaching the bottom floor and clearing the staircase, Nel and Corey stopped. Most of the Hunters had given them a very wide birth, hanging to the sides of the room with whatever Pokemon they had on them out at their sides. Directly in their path however stood two Hunters, looks of superiority on their faces.

"Corey," said Nel softly, "those uniforms they are wearing mean that they are part of a strong team of Hunters. They won't be like any of the ones we have been facing so far."

"Oh a challenge?" said Corey, scratching his back. "All this running around has gotten me itching for some good battling anyway." Nel glanced sidelong at him before stepping forward.

"I don't recall using the word challenge."

"Hey I get that you think you're tough for busting into the base like this but that doesn't mean you can be rude to us!" shouted the shorter of the two Hunters. His partner put a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, would ya?" he said, though he also sounded annoyed. "Let's just take care of this so I can get back to my meal." They both tossed out Pokemon. A Feraligator and a Hariyama.

"Raichu, I need you again," said Corey tossing his pokeball. "Empoleon, keep an eye on everyone around us, they just might try something."

"I guess I'll start," said Nel. "Drapion, Cross Poison!"

"Hariyama, counter with Arm Thrust! Push it aside!" Hariyama quickly used the attack to knock the Cross Poison off target, destroying a table like it was made of paper. Both Hunters winced at the damage.

"Feraligator, Hydro Pump, let's go!"

"Not so fast, your battle is with me!" shouted Corey. "Raichu, Thunterbolt!" The electric attack hammered the water Pokemon, causing him to fall to the ground. The Hunter growled angrily as small bits of electricity raced over his Pokemon. It appeared as if he were paralyzed.

"Feraligator, get up!" he shouted. When nothing happened he quickly looked around and continued, "Well don't just stand there! Attack them! Go Golem, Rollout!" The Hunter's along the wall flinched before calling various attacks to their Pokemon which all aimed right at Corey.

"Empoleon, Protect! Raichu dodge with Double Team!" he said quickly. The attacks had no effect against Empoleon's absolute defense and he managed to dive out of the way of Golem's attack as it passed right through one of the fake Raichu. "Now use Surf!" As Empoleon overwhelmed the Hunters with a flood of water he turned to Golem, who was coming about for another pass. "Raichu use Iron Tail!" Raichu unfurled his tail sharply, slamming Golem in his side and sending him crashing into a wall, defeated. Taking a breath he turned to Nel. "Nel, watch out for the other Hunter's, they'll try to catch you off guard."

"What are you talking about?" Nel was leaning against a table with her arms crossed. What few Hunters were still left on her side were all wrapped head to toe in web. The others had clearly run for their lives. Corey looked over at Drapion to see him spin Hariyama around in the air before tossing him straight into his trainer, both of them out for the count.

"Feraligator, Golem, return!" said the Hunter, now the last opponent they had in the room. He looked around, eyes narrowing at his pathetic looking comrades. "I know I cannot stop you but at least tell me, why are you doing this? What do you have to gain by breaking into this place? You have to understand that you'll never be able to escape." Nel simply walked past him and into a hallway, Drapion and Ariados following her.

"Sorry about that, she's kind of hard to get," said Corey. "Come on you two, let's make sure she doesn't do anything crazy without us." He ran off down the hall, Raichu and Empoleon following quickly. The Hunter moved to his partner and shook him back to consciousness.

"Ow, my head. What happened?" he asked as he got to his feet. The taller Hunter helped him stand, looking back after the intruders.

"Those two are on a whole different level than anything I've ever seen. With most of the main force gone, I don't know if anyone on this base could stop them."

XxxxX

Corey caught up with Nel after a few seconds. It appeared that the Hunters weren't pursuing them from the previous area and he was glad for the break. Constant battling was very tiring.

"Something isn't right," said Nel, glancing down hallways that branched off from the one they were taking. "This had been far too easy."

"Well I won't argue with you there," said Corey. "But isn't that because we're too good?" Nel looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I'm not bragging but I'm a candidate for the Sinnoh Elite Four, and to be completely honest, I don't think you would have any trouble joining a region's Elite Four either."

"You misunderstand me," said Nel, facing forward again. "I was referring to the lack of people in this base. There should be well more than ten times what we've been up against in sheer numbers." Corey paled. Ten times? And she still barged into this place? She was even originally going to do it alone. "When it comes to strength though I _know_ I am more than a match for anyone in this base, full or not."

"Right, so where do you think everyone is, if they aren't here?" asked Corey. Nel didn't even look back at him.

"Do I look like I would know something like that?" He sighed quietly.

They continued down a number of empty hallways, periodically passing doors and those strange, window-like panels on the walls. After a few minutes Nel came to a halt.

"What's up?" asked Corey, looking around to make sure they were still alone.

"We're here. Recall your Pokemon," she said, doing the same, "we won't be needing them in here right away."

"And what exactly is here?" said Corey, obeying. Nel stood to the side so that Corey could see the security devices to the side of the door.

"It's the most secure area in the base. You need to have your thumb print read to enter this part of the base, and only a few people are given access"

"So then how on earth are we going to get in?" he asked. "Blast it?"

"No need," she said, pressing her thumb against the reader. The light next to the reader turned from red to green and the door opened. Nel sneered at the reader. "Che- thought you did such a great job then, didn't you?" she muttered. "Didn't even bother to restrict my access."

Corey decided not to ask why Nel had access to an area only a select few were supposed to get into. It was obvious that Nel was deeply involved with the Hunters at some point. Perhaps she was an ex-member? If so she would have had to been a very important one. But if that were true then why didn't anyone recognize her? Nel led the way inside, taking a left at the end of the hall and continuing on for about a minute. The area was completely quiet. It seemed that nobody was around. Nel put her thumb on another reader and a door opened. They walked inside to what was clearly someone's room.

"This is..."

"Vince Korinek's room," finished Nel, making Corey look around in alarm. What were they doing in here? Nel looked disappointed that he wasn't there. "I was hoping he'd be here, but if he isn't here then he's likely in the lab."

"This area has a lab?" asked Corey, feeling curious.

"This place is the commander's domain. This section of the base is completely separated from the rest of it. Vince used to spend hours and hours locked in his lab. I always knew he was a science nut but at least now I know why..." Nel's voice trailed off into nothing. "Come on let's get to the lab."

"Right," said Corey, leading the way out and down the hall some more. Turning he saw that Nel had stopped at the door next to Korinek's. "The lab is this way, right?" When Nel said nothing he walked back to her side, also looking at the door. Nel ran her hand along the door, seemingly lost in memory.

"We can go in if you want," said Corey, making her jump slightly. He backed up a tad and continued, "I mean it's not like we're in a rush or anything and no one can really find us here anyway." Nel stared at him for a moment before making up her mind and pressing her thumb against the print reader. They entered the much larger room. Some areas of it looked well used while others were clearly covered in dust. Corey walked to where the desk was with the computer and sat down, watching Nel move about the room in her own world. "Did you visit this room a lot?" he asked, deciding to talk. "When you were here before." Nel looked over at him, her expression unreadable.

"Of course," she said. "This was my room."

"You lived next to Korinek?" he said, surprised. To his surprise, Nel laughed.

"Don't be silly, Corey. Vince Korinek lived next to _me_," she said, still looking around the room. "I see he had a door installed connecting the rooms. Still it doesn't look like he actually moved in here." She glanced at Corey who was muttering to himself, scratching his chin.

"You say that like you were above him, but Korinek has run the Hunters for years...must have been right near the top of the top..." He crossing his arms. "But you know so much about critical systems and areas of the base it's like you built this place but that...No way." Nel turned around. Corey just sat there staring at her, mouth moving but no sound coming out, the conclusion he so curiously sought right in his lap. She grinned and bowed grandly.

"Hunter J at your service." Corey just blinked.

"But you don't look anything like Hunter J," he said instantly. Nel shrugged.

"Growing your hair out and rethinking your self image can do that to a person," she said easily.

"Apparently," said Corey. Well now the mystery was solved. He was attacking the base with Hunter J. At least things made sense. Wait a second, no they didn't. "Don't mean to be insensitive but I thought Korinek had you killed. At least," he added scratching his head, "that's what he told me."

"Why would Vince tell you anything?" asked Nel. "Were you a Hunter too?"

"For a time," he said. "I was looking for someone so I caught Pokemon for them to keep up their Pokemon hunting gig. In exchange I got information. But at a certain point I got in a bit over my head so I backed out. I dealt mostly with Aero, but some times I got requests from Korinek."

"I see," said Nel, now standing in front of a large bookshelf. The dust on the shelves was thick. Obviously Vince hadn't paid most of her belongings any mind after doing away with her. Smiling, she sifted some books out of the way and pressed a hidden button, allowing the entire bookcase to swing forward like a door. Corey came over, interested in what she was doing. Behind the bookcase was a large safe with a digital panel. Nel entered a long series of numbers, not caring that Corey was watching. It wasn't like she'd be using this safe ever again. Opening the safe Corey blinked. It was surprisingly sparse.

The safe only contained three things. The first and largest was a metal briefcase. It looked like it was made of steel. "Hold this for me?" asked Nel, passing it to him without looking. He Corey caught it before she dropped it on his foot. It was a lot lighter than it looked. The second thing Nel pulled out was a pokeball. She instantly clipped it to her belt next to the other five. However Corey's curiosity about the Pokemon that had been locked away in a safe for years was instantly overtaken by the final thing Nel took out. It was a holster made to go about the waist or upper thigh. However what it held...

"Is that... a Pokedex?"

If Corey didn't know any better, he would have though Nel had blushed slightly.

"We all have to start somewhere, don't we?" she said, adjusting the holster and fitting it around her waist. She closed the now empty safe and returned the bookcase to its original position. Corey handed her the briefcase. "Now let's get to the lab." They made their way down the hall to the very end where a set of double doors were closed. Nel tried scanning her thumb on the reader but it was refused.

"As I thought," she said pulling out a pokeball. "Drapion, open this please."

The doors were blasted off their hinges. Corey and Nel jumped inside, pokeballs ready, but they were met with no resistance. The lab was completely deserted. They walked around, alert to any movement, but no one was there. It was as if everyone had the day off.

"What's going on?" asked Corey.

"I'm not sure," said Nel, moving through the lab and looking around. "I assumed that if Vince wasn't in his room he would be here. What's this?" Corey walked over to see what Nel was talking about. To the side by the entrance there was a large bulletin board that had an enormous map of the world. There were various colored pins placed areas throughout parts of the different regions.

"Locations of bases?" asked Corey. Nel shook her head.

"Not likely. I was really only established in Sinnoh. Though I had a place to go in each of the regions when I visited it wasn't to this scope."

"Ahh, the doors!"

Nel and Corey turned to find a girl standing in the doorway, looking around in alarm.

"Who are you?" she said fiercely, starkly contrasting with her small frame.

"Oh my, is that Melody?" Melody hesitated at Nel's words. It was clear that this was not what she had been expecting from an intruder in the lab who had busted the doors down.

"I'll only ask you once more, who are you?"

"Do I really look that different?" Nel asked herself softly. She gathered her long silvery hair in one hand and drew it behind her head and put on an angry face. "How about now?"

Melody's face slowly went from aggressive to fearful; the transformation was truly something top behold. A hand instantly pulled out a pokeball, thought no Pokemon followed it. Her shaking hand belied her fear. It seemed as if the small girl meant to protect herself solely with the small red and white sphere. Nel smirked and walked up to the girl, frozen in place. Once Nel got close she winced slightly, waiting for the attack.

"Where's Vince?" The room was deathly quite. It was all too easy to make out the sound of their light breathing.

"Ha-hanger," said Melody in a tiny voice. Nel smiled and was about to leave but Melody continued, "He's looking over the shipments. We finished the chemical to evolve everyone." She instantly covered her mouth with her hands, pokeball and all, but the damage was done. Nel grabbed the girl by her arm, her eyes boring into the girl.

"What have you all done? What did you do with Miranda's blood!"

"Hey ease up a bit, can't you see she's-" but Corey was silenced with a glance from Nel.

"Answer me, Melody," said Nel. Melody gulped and opened her eyes.

"We were able to use it as a base to enhance regular human DNA and change it," she said quickly, trying to avoid looking directly into Nel's eyes. "When we took the particular pieces of coding and applied them to the human DNA it was just incredible, it was like they made the DNA remember what it should have been and induced the change almost instantly. I don't know why it worked the way it does. None of us do." Nel released Melody's arm and the girl sank to the floor, breathing quickly.

Nel looked down at Melody for a moment before letting out a short breath and saying, "Would you stop shaking already? I'm not going to attack you, Melody."

"But you hate us," she said automatically, not looking up. Nel looked at the ceiling, clearly looking for patience. With a glance to Corey she made her way out of the lab.

"Don't think so highly of yourself," she said. "You aren't worth my hate." Corey sighed inwardly. This woman was evil. Certainly evil. As Nel vanished out of sight he realized that he was being left behind. Melody hadn't moved.

"Anyway, I guess we'll see you around," said Corey, unable to come up with anything else. He ran off after Nel.

Melody slowly stood up and looked through the broken doorway. She still was having trouble accepting what had just happened. Gritting her teeth she punched a button to an intercom.

"Aero! You'd better be there!"

"I'm kind of busy right now Melody," came Aero's voice. He sounded worn out. "About five minutes ago a group of Guardians showed up and are attacking the front of the base, it's just ridiculous. Anyway what's going on? I haven't been able to get in contact with anyone in your area. The intruders were reported to have gone where you are."

"That isn't important, I need you to send a message to Vince," said Melody sharply. She took a deep breath then continued. "She's back, Aero. Hunter J is alive."

XxxxX

"We're heading to the hanger now?"

"That's right."

"What do you plan on doing when we get there?" Corey's question hung in the air as they made their way back to the entrance of the section they were in. According to Nel the hanger was not far from the entrance. "If he's in the hanger then that probably means he's going somewhere. He very well might have the entire time since we got here," added Corey. There was no need to clarify who 'he' was.

"If he's not there then I will chase him," said Nel simply. "He'll know I'm coming now but there's little I can do about that." She stopped suddenly. Corey stopped quickly as well so he wouldn't bump into her. "I don't know how long this is going to go on, but at this point it's personal. You don't need to come." Corey simply blinked at her then grinned.

"You're not going soft on me now are you?" Nel narrowed her eyes, at which Corey put up his hands in surrender. "Kind of you, but I've made up my mind."

"Then let's go." Nel clenched her teeth. He was within her reach. He would _not_ escape.


	20. Business in Rota

Vince Korinek watched as the final ship left the hanger. It had taken a huge effort to prep every flight capable vehicle the Hunter Corps possessed in order to transport the chemical. The first had gone to the farthest location, the last to the closest. Absentmindedly he turned the fist-sized sphere he held over in his hands. It was the final 'bio-bomb' as it were. Of course, calling it a bomb was a bit misleading; it didn't exactly explode like a regular bomb would. Upon 'detination', the sphere released the pressurized chemical he and his team had worked so hard to create. It was designed with one main goal in mind: Infection.

The strange way in which Miranda Eon's DNA completely forced the mutation and replication of the Resonant Gene, as he called it, allowed the team to completely focus on on simply making some type of carrier for it; something that would spread through air, water, anything. And this was their result. Additionally, the fact that it only took one cell to begin the process meant that they could technically produce an endless supply of these bombs, considering the amount of blood recovered from Miss Eon.

"Commander Korinek?"

"Go ahead."

"We are nearly ready to depart for the Kanto region. I understand that you wanted to leave quickly so I suggest you come aboard now." Vince nodded and switched off the com terminal. It was time to leave. There were still various people moving things into the ship main cargo area but they would be done soon. When he was half way to the bridge, the earpiece he had made a small amount of static.

"Commander, there is a message for you on the bridge," came the voice again. It was thick with hesitation. "She said she's an old friend and you would want to talk to her. I do not know who it is." Vince frowned.

"...understood."

His pace quickened, though by an amount almost unnoticeable to anyone who could see him. His exterior was calm and commanding, but his thoughts were rapidly shifting about, all centering on one thing. Could what Aero have told him jest recently actually be true? Was J still alive? Upon arriving at the bridge, the com officer who had radioed him earlier walked over.

"Ah, Sir, I'm sorry but-" he apologized as he gestured to the main screen where a woman's upper body showed. For the first time in years, Vince Korinek found himself speechless. The woman he half expected to see was there, and yet...

Years ago, when he had first met J, he was immediately struck by how cold she was. Cold to people and life itself, she was more of a machine who simply existed to complete missions. How such a personality ever came to be developed, he had no idea. However it had made it that much easier to be rid of her when the time finally came for him to stage his rebellion. He could still easily recall those dead, ice blue eyes as they oversaw the hunter organization. Yet the woman in front of him was a J he had never seen before. Her silver hair fell past her shoulders, past the bottom of the screen and out of sight. Thin eyebrows framed her ice-like eyes, but they weren't lifeless like he remembered. She was even smiling. All of that in addition to the cute top she was wearing presented him with a _very_ different woman than he was expecting.

"Hello, Vince," she said sweetly. Even her voice was completely different. It was no wonder that not a single person could recognize who she was, even though many had served under her for years.

"J, you look well," he said after a moment. At the mention of her name, everyone on the bridge flinched and looked quickly at the screen too. Clearing his throat deliberately, Vince took his seat and looked up into the screen. Everyone quickly got back to work, though they all kept one eye on the woman on the screen. "Better, in fact."

"Oh, Vince, you flatter me," said Nel waving a hand at him before crossing her arms across her chest. "But it's not J anymore. Please call me Nel."

"I see. Did a new name mark a significant change in your life?" Korinek smirked despite himself. Instead of retaliating Nel merely shook her head.

"Vince, you didn't honestly think that my actual name was J did you?" she said amused. "But that's not important. I really just wanted to make sure you know that I was still around." Vince stiffened.

"Is that to say you're out for revenge? I quite understand your anger," he said blandly. Nel frowned, her eyebrows lowering by a fraction.

"Do you?" Her voice like a dagger. Even though she was on a screen she had an immense presence. Everything in her expression was that of one who was looking down on someone, on some_thing. _"You've gotten blood on your hands you never should have touched. Clean your neck, Vince Korinek." She drew her thumb across her neck. "I'm coming for your head." The signal cut out instantly. Everyone looked at Vince slowly, not daring to make a sound. Vince simply closed his eyes briefly.

"As soon as we are ready, take off. Not a moment later!" He readjusted his tie before settling back into his seat. "I have an appointment to keep."

XxxxX

Outside the ship, Corey hid behind some high stacked boxes near by a cargo entrance to the ship. A few people were loading some supplies quickly. It looked as if they were nearly done. Suddenly Nel appeared at his side.

"Done, let's go."

"Alright, this is our only chance, I think they are pretty much done!" said Corey quietly. They quickly moved into the cargo area, looking around for a place to hide. Most of the crates were piled neatly and tightly leaving no spaces.

"There, a door," said Nel, grabbing Corey and pulling him. Luckily the door was open. Nel slipped inside and Corey followed...

...only to crash into Nel's back. They were in a storage closet. A small one. Corey was using every fiber of his being not to collapse on top of the woman. Something told him that such a situation would only spell his death.

"It's rather cramped in here, don't you think?" he said cheerfully. The look Nel gave him quickly wiped the smile off of his face. "Hang on I'll open it." About to turn the door handle, Nel quickly grabbed his wrist and shook her head. Voices could now be heard quite clearly just beyond the door.

"That's the last of it," said one.

"Thank god, my back is killing me." That made two.

"Cargo bay to bridge, we are all set. You guys can take off now." A woman this time.

"Well, now what? Do we really have to sit here the whole time?  
"Yep."

"So where are the rest of the guys?"

"They're coming now. We can play cards to pass the time. I mean it shouldn't be too long before we get there. This sky-tub moves pretty fast."

"Well that's something at least. You have the cards on you?"

"No they're in the closet. Grab them for me would you?" Nel and Corey exchanged looks. Nel's hand moved to her belt.

"Ah wait I have them here!"

"Great let's get started, I'm bored already."

Corey locked the closet door and slid to the floor, crossing his legs. "Look's like we're stuck until we land," he said softly. "Do you really want to stand the whole time?" Nel hesitated then also sat down, looking pointedly at Corey until he understood and slid to the side, giving her space for her legs. "Sorry that you have to go through all this." Nel looked at him in surprise.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you?" she said. Corey grimaced.

"I noticed you hadn't," he said tiredly. Nel couldn't help but grinning.

"No, I'm not that nice."

XxxxX

"Full House. I win again."

"Bah, screw this."

Ash crossed his arms in an agitated fashion, pushing himself away from the small dining table. Leon just leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile on his face. Ash may be an incredible trainer and an Aura Knight to boot, but he sucked at card games.

"I thought Knights were supposed to have an indomitable spirit or something," said Leon coolly shuffling the cards in his hands. He seemed to be using an invisible surface that hung in mid air. Ash simply glared at him.

"Ahh, shut up." Riley looked over at Ash from his seat on the couch before returning to his work. He was currently studying a map of the surrounding area that they had pieced together over time using information Leon provided in addition to what they already knew. Though the past few days had been quiet, he knew better than to think that things weren't escalating. He had talked to the queen over the vid-com yesterday, getting information about the Hunter Corps as well as... well a few other things.

"_What is it, Riley? You're staring."_

"_Wha? Sorry Ilene, just thinking. How is she?" Ilene smiled as she touched her belly._

"_You know just as well as I do that it's far too early to tell something like that."_

"_Well, one can hope..."_

"_I feel bad though. This child will have a heavy fate, just as I do. Perhaps it would just be better to let the Royal Guardians take over..." Riley said nothing. "I'm joking obviously."_

He sighed heavily. Ash and Leon broke off their bickering and looked over for a moment before raising their eyebrows at each other. That was a girl problems sigh for sure. Of course, in regards to that, Riley wasn't the only one who had something on his mind.

For the past few days, Ash was seriously trying to puzzle out his feelings for Miranda and Cynthia. Miranda had been traveling with him for years. They day they first met he met her as a child, but he watched her grow into a young woman. An attractive one. They traveled around the world, Ash teaching her all the while about this time. She was slow to understand many things at first. Very slow to trust others or even interact with them. She never left his side, always a warm and dependent person. She helped him get through so many tough parts of his life that might have otherwise broken him. She even watched as he rebuilt his team of Pokemon, training them to his utmost. For all this, it would be wrong to say she wasn't incredibly important to him. He did love her, but...

Cynthia. Ugh, she made him want to run into a wall sometimes. She could be so frustrating! Yet every time he thought of a time they talked happily over a meal or even those few times they had been together during parties, he could remember feeling warm. Like he was sitting out in full sunlight on a field. And she was dangerously beautiful- deadly, almost. Not infrequently did he catch himself gazing listlessly off in her direction before snapping back to awareness. But these thoughts were so fresh, so new to him, it was hard to accept they were real. Maybe because for the first time in his life he wasn't blinded to other aspects of life because of Pokemon.

Ash looked at his hands quietly. He _had_ changed. A lot.

"What's wrong?" said Leon, dealing him another hand. Ash looked over at him. "Not still worrying about that Miranda girl are you?" Though this might sound incredibly perceptive of him, Leon wasn't referring to what Ash was thinking about at the moment. Yesterday Ash had given his own report to the Queen using a private vid-com in the Pokemon Center. It wasn't anything critical, but she had requested to Riley that Ash speak with her. They talked for a while about the situation and Ash gave his honest opinions. Then...

"_Your Majesty?"_

"_Ah- what is it Ash?"_

"_Nothing, you've just been quiet for a while now," he said, crossing his arms. "And staring at me."_

"_Maybe I like how you look," she said with a smile. "I don't get to see you that much so I should get my fill while I can, don't you think?"_

"_Your Majesty is as kind as she is beautiful," said Ash, rolling his eyes. He wondered if she was like this with anyone else. This time it was Ilene who crossed her arms. She raised an eyebrow._

"_Such sarcasm. Are you jealous that someone stole a march on you..." Ash looked at her confused, "to get to me?" she finished, putting her hands on her belly. Ash closed his eyes quickly. He knew he was blushing._

"_Your Majesty, you _really_ shouldn't be saying things like that," he said, doing his best to keep his voice level. "Even in private. However," he added, forestalling her reply, "I graciously concede. It's your win." Ilene just laughed happily._

"_Oh Ash, please tell me, how long did it take for you to learn to talk like that?" she asked, slightly more seriously now. "You used to be so cute when you were younger." Ash couldn't help but crack a smile. It _was_ hard to speak like this all the time around them. Of course he wasn't about to say anything, it was actually fun a lot of the time, you just had to pick your battles well._

"_Apparently not long enough," he said. "Now, was there something on your mind? You know I'll help you if I can." Ilene's smile slid away. It appeared he was right._

"_I... I wanted to keep this from you at first because I was afraid it would distract you on your current assignment, and I truly need all of your focus to be where you are..." she sighed and looked him in the eye. "But it would be wrong of me to keep this from you any longer."_

"_What happened?" asked Ash seriously, fears of what it could be bubbling up slowly in his brain. Ilene took a small breath._

"_Miranda was attacked." Ice closed around his heart. She had said attacked, not captured. At least it hadn't been that._

"_Is she alright?" he asked._

"_No, she's in a wheelchair."_

"_She's in a WHAT?" he shouted, gripping the screen. Ilene just looked back at him sadly. "Sorry" he said, pulling himself back under control. "What happened?"_

"_According to the report Miranda gave, she and Nel went out for the day and were ambushed towards the end of it," said Ilene. "They were completely outnumbered by about twenty to one and they tried to escape but were separated when a roof collapsed under Miranda's feet. This is primarily where she got her injuries." Ilene decided not to mention what had happened after that. Ash shook his head._

"_Did the Hunters manage to get a sample of her blood?" he asked. Ilene blinked then nodded slowly. Ash signed heavily. Everything he had worked to prevent the past four years was suddenly worthless. But what point was there complaining about it now?_

"_Dammit. Miranda must not have had any Pokemon with her or that never would have happened," said Ash, leaning against the side of the vid-com. "What was she doing, going somewhere with Nel?"_

"_Miranda made it expressly clear in her account that Nel was not responsible at all for her condition and for no one to blame her," said Ilene. "You'll have to ask Miranda herself for anything more. Of course, that will have to happen at a later date." Ash shook his head._

"_I'm not going to go haring off," he said exasperated. "Just tell me one thing-"_

"_Don't worry Ash, she will make a full recovery," interrupted Ilene with a smile. "They are taking good care of her."_

"_I'll head back then," said Ash, bowing slightly. "Just take good care of yourself, Your Majesty. Miranda isn't the only girl I care about after all."_

"_You're sweet, Ash. Even if you don't realize it," she said. Ash was about to respond but the communication cut out. She had hung up._

"Kid, you listening to me?" said Leon, waving his card in front of Ash's face. Ash just looked at him.

"Women are way more complicated than should be allowed."

"Agreed," mumbled Riley.

Suddenly something crashed into the front door making everyone jump.

"The hell was that?" said Ash. They all ran to the front and opened the door to find a man slumped over, cradling his left arm with his right. Blood ran down the side of his head.

"James!" said Riley sharply, "What happened to you? Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright? Get me inside quick!" said the gruff voice. He looked over his shoulder as Riley and Leon helped him inside. Ash quickly shut the door and locked it, cautiously staring out through the small window. They brought him to the living room and sat him on the couch. Leon quickly passed him some tissues which were pressed against the head wound. "Thanks," said James, leaning back with a wince.

"James, this is Ash and Leon," said Riley, making brief introductions. "James is a guardian who was stationed in this area. I've been having him do light recon for us. I'll take it something happened?"

"You could say that," said James with a grimace. "I've been keeping an eye on that mansion like you asked me to and it was relatively quiet for a few days, but-" James coughed roughly. "Sorry, earlier today I was caught off guard but I managed to escape and shake them off. Something is going on, Riley. They did _not_ want me to get away. I managed to steal one of their vehicles but I crashed it a little ways away from here. Can't really see that well. I made the rest of the way on foot, but they'll definitely track me to this place. We need to get out of here...they're up to something big and at this point they're not even trying to hide it. Heard them talking about... something." He closed his eyes sharply as another spasm of pain went through his body. Riley held up his hand.

"James, you've done a great job bring this to us. Rest here, I promise you'll be safe. We'll take it from here."

"Thanks," he said, leaning back and closing his eyes. He seemed to fall asleep almost instantly. The three of them moved into the kitchen and huddled around the table.

"Alright, I know James well. If he says something big is happening then it is. I want to get back to the castle," said Riley immediately. As calm and collected as he may appear, the lack of action was beginning to agitate him as well.

"Worried about the Queen?" asked Ash.

"Yes, in all honesty it would be better if one of us was with her for protection and anything else that may happen at the castle. Not that I don't trust the guard but..." his voice trailed off. He looked at Ash and continued, "I hope you don't mind if I go."

"Not at all. I'd rather stay anyway." Leon raised an eyebrow at the younger men.

"So what's the plan?"

"I'll secure transport back to Rota and get back as fast as I can. In the mean time, you two should investigate what is going on at the mansion that James was talking about." Riley looked over at Ash and said pointedly, "Just don't do anything rash, alright?"

"Right, right," said Ash with a grimace. Something brushed the back of his mind and he turned around automatically. He could faintly feel aura signatures approaching them at a fast pace. There were many of them.

"How do you plan on getting back?" asked Leon. Riley shook his head. "Well let me help you out a little then," he added, pulling out a pokeball and passing it to Riley.

"What's this?" he asked.

"My Garchomp, he's _fast_."

"Let's go out to the back so you can leave then," said Ash quickly. "I can feel them getting closer. They're definitely in vehicles." They moved to the back yard where Riley threw out the pokeball Leon had given him. Out came a large Garchomp. He looked menacing with a large scar across his right eye.

"Don't be afraid, he's a big baby," said Leon, patting the side of his Pokemon. Garchomp simply knocked him over sideways with his wing. "He's a big joker too," Leon added from the ground. "Listen, Garchomp," he said, speaking more seriously. "I need you to take Riley here to Rota in Kanto as fast as possible without him falling to his death." Leon pointed to Riley and Garchomp nodded. "He'll have your pokeball so just stay with him until I come get you back. It shouldn't be that long. In the mean time help him out with whatever he needs." Garchomp simply responded by lowering himself so Riley could hop on.

"Don't worry about me falling off, I've got a way to stay on," said Riley, positioning himself behind his fin. "Show me your speed Garchomp." Ash and Leon watched as the two vanished behind the trees.

"I take it he was your main Pokemon?" asked Ash. Leon glanced over.

"Yeah, actually my wife had a Garchomp as well; female though." Leon scratched his head. "Don't know how it happened but there was a Pokemon egg just sitting there one day. Gave it to Cynthia for her birthday." Ash grinned. Like father like daughter. Suddenly they could hear the sound of vehicles approaching. It sounded like a lot of them. "So we never actually worked out our half of the plan before he left," said Leon quietly, moving to the side of the house, to peek around. Nothing yet.

"Well, there's an injured guy inside and I'd rather not have a big fight around your home if I can help it," said Ash, also looking around the side of the house. "We need to get to that mansion again and see what's going on there. I'm tired of sitting around on my ass."

"Then let's take it to them," said Leon, pulling out a Pokeball. A number of black four by fours were pulling up to the house's front. Men and women poured out of the vehicles, pulling out pokeballs and spreading out.

"You drive," said Ash. Leon nodded.

"Sableye, Shadow Sneak," said Leon quietly, calling out his Pokemon. The Sableye stealthily moved closer to the group before his shadow suddenly spread across the ground in all directions. Ash had barely a second to marvel at the number of targets he had when Leon grabbed him, pulling him into a run. "Let's go!" he shouted, getting the attention of their enemies.

"Pikachu!" shouted Ash. A thunderbolt arced at one of the vehicles around the middle causing sparks to completely cover it. Two people who were near it were caught as well, screaming before they dropped. As they ran for the nearest car, shadowy fists suddenly shot out of the ground, attacking all of the Royal Guardians at once. Sableye was doing an excellent job of keeping them preoccupied. As they made it to a car, Leon punched the Guardian by the door, knocking him over and out of the way. He quickly got in the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Get in Ash!" he shouted, putting it in gear. As Ash and Pikachu dove in, Leon hit the accelerator. "Sableye, return!" he said, pointing the pokeball in his hand out of the window. "Hang on!" They drove straight through a group of bushes and into the forest. Ash looked behind them to see the Guardians all rushing into their vehicles. One of them was already moving.

"Leon, we're going to have company really soon," he said, turning back to the front. "Step on it."

"Sorry Ash, but while I'm in the forest I can only go so fast," said Leon, focused on the trees rushing past them. "One wrong turn and it's all over for us." A tree passed the car, just tapping the right side view mirror, causing it to snap clean off. Ash sweatdropped.

"I see." He looked back over his shoulder again. "How long should it take us to get there?"

"Not too long if we're driving, but we really should try to get rid of these guys following us first," he said, making a sharp left then straightening out. It seemed they had found a dirt road of some kind.

"Do you even know where we are?" asked Ash. "I don't want us to get lost while we try to shake these guys."

"Don't worry, I know this forest like the back of my- DUCK!" he shouted, pushing Ash's head down. At that moment a beam ripped through the roof of the car, tearing it clean off. Leon swerved about but managed to keep them going, bringing the car back under control. Ash slowly lifted his head, brushing bits of metal and glass off of his shirt.

"Great, now it's breezy," he said with a grimace. "Leon, just focus on getting us to the mansion. I'll make sure we get there alone."

"What are you going to do?" he said. Ash moved to the back seat easily, no longer having to duck. The trees flew by him as they rushed down the dirt road. This was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done. He stood up, nearly falling over when the car hit a bump. His clothing flapped hard in the wind. "Ash are you an idiot? You'll die!" shouted Leon, seeing him in what was left of the broken rear view mirror.

"Just drive." Steadying himself he reached for a pokeball at his belt. "Pikachu, take a spot at my left. I'll count on you at my right, okay Sceptile?" The green Pokemon stuck a small twig in the side of his mouth.

"You can count on me," he said smugly. Ash grinned. He had sent Armaldo back to the Oak lab while he was at the Pokemon Center after his meeting with the Queen. Armaldo was a tough Pokemon, but he wasn't ready for the fights ahead. After thinking on it for a while, Sceptile had been his choice. Speed and power, plus a winning attitude; Sceptile had all that in spades.

Having neglected his Pokemon at Oak's Lab he fully intended to use them all when he began as a Frontier Brain. He would be able to take care of them all with his income from the job as well, which meant he could finally train them all to his liking too. He looked forward to the challenge. It would also be his way of apologizing for leaving them for so long. For now though they would have to wait a little longer.

The roof of the car in the lead of the pack suddenly folded back and out of the way, folled by all the others. Of course the cars were convertibles. They just had to get their roof blown off... A Lucario stood in the lead car charging an Aura Sphere.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu shot lightning at the car but it swerved out of the way, tearing up the ground behind it. The Lucario shot of the attack with deadly accuracy. "Sceptile, make sure I don't fall!" said Ash focusing on the sphere. It bulleted directly at him but he shifted his stance and deflected it to the side with his hand. The attack tore right through a tree and it fell behind them as they all sped past. "Now Sceptile, slow them all down with Bullet Seed!"

Sceptile pulled out the twig in his mouth and shot hundreds of glowing seeds at the oncoming cars. The windshields of the front three were all shattered, the Guardians driving them barely keeping in control. "Thunderbolt!" shouted Ash, pointing at the lead car. Pikachu's attack struck dead on, causing the car to spin out of control, crashing into a tree on the side of the road. The two cars on the outside put on a burst of speed, coming up along either side of their car. As one they both rammed the car, causing Ash to stumble.

"Ash!" Leon shouted.

"Don't slow down!" Ash shouted back, rising to his feet again. "We cant let them box us in. Pikachu on your side, Iron Tail!" Pikachu slammed the Electebuz back into the car it was climbing out from, causing it to swerve slightly. "Leon! Ram right!" Ash held on tightly as the car slammed into the one on their right, causing it to careen off the road into the trees, out of sight.

"Lucario, Force Palm!

"BRAKE!"

Leon slammed on the breaks, causing the car next to them to fly ahead, the attack barely missing. As they tried to line back up again, Sceptile launched himself onto their vehicle, the leaves on his right arm glowing green. He sliced the car straight down the middle before leaping back onto their own car. The other car continued driving normally for a few moments then fell apart dragging into the dirt of the road causing the last few cars, that had gotten so much closer when they braked so slow down to avoid being hit.

"Ash, sit down now, we're heading back into the thick!" shouted Leon. Ash didn't move, still staring at the destroyed cars in the distance. "Ash!" Attacks flew past his head, missing him by inches. Pikachu shouted something to Sceptile who pulled Ash back into the safety of the car, forcing him down on the rear seats. Sceptile stuck his head back out keeping an eye on their pursuers, shooting more Bullet Seeds. He ducked his head back inside to avoid a counter attack. Pikachu moved up to the front and tapped Leon. "Ash, what's wrong?" The adrenaline he had been feeling earlier was suddenly gone.

"We stopped three cars, either crashed into trees or cut into pieces. They're definitely dead," he said putting a hand on his head.

"Sorry Ash, but there's nothing for it," said Leon, still looking forward. Trees rushed past them; Leon was an excellent driver. "That's really what happens when you try to fight in speeding cars. Plus," he added more quietly, "I can tell they don't just want to give us bumps on the head. It's them or us."

"I know," said Ash. "But can you blame me for not just having Gardevoir destroy them all at once?" Leon frowned. He had met the psychic Pokemon a few days earlier. She was nothing like he had ever seen before.

"Look Ash," he said, "You said just drive, so that's what I'm doing. You take care of them however you feel it best. Just, do take care of them. It'll make things difficult if they stay with us for much longer."

"How close are we to the mansion?"

"Five minutes, I've been going _really_ fast." Leon grimaced. "I'm actually surprised I haven't had a heart attack yet." Ash shook his head. Cynthia awaited them at the mansion. Cain too. He had things to say to both of them. Important things.

"Leon take us closer to the trees, Sceptile feel like doing a little woodcutting?" Sceptile just grinned his arm leaves glowing and extending into large green blades.

XxxxX

"Faster," said the Guardian in the passenger seat. They were not far off from their targets. The forest had forced them back into a line. They would use the next clearing to surround the car and take them out.

"Can't go any faster, we'll crash."

"They haven't attacked back for a while, did something happen?"

"Now's our chance, we're gaining," the car ahead seemed to slowing slightly. Suddenly there was a large green flash.

"What was that?"

"Don't know, we're fine. Keep going!" Suddenly the trees around them began tilting.

"Oh god...the trees!"

"What?"

"The whole forest is coming down around us!"

"LOOK OUT!"

XxxxX

"ASH WHAT THE HELL!"

"Sorry Leon, I didn't know Sceptile had gotten that good. You must have been training a lot these past years." Ash nodded approvingly at his Pokemon who smiled happily at the praise.

"Ash, I understood the plan was to knock down some trees..." said Leon through gritted teeth. "SOME trees!" They swerved sharply to one side, a giant tree crashing into where they had just been seconds ago. "Are you _trying_ to kill us?"

"Don't listen to him Sceptile, you're awesome," said Ash, recalling the Pokemon. "Leon ahead!"

"I see it!" Two trees were falling to block their path, the car rushing right under them. Ash looked behind them at the area of leveled forest. He couldn't help but wonder if any of his other Pokemon had been taking it upon themselves to train hard in his absence.

"Nice driving, Leon," said Ash patting the man on his shoulder.

"Yeah yeah, you owe me big for this," he said. "Big. Oh and we're here." They zoomed past a checkpoint Ash recognized, but there was no one there and nothing was in their way. Perhaps that group of Guardians had consisted of much of the mansions security? They pulled up in front of the mansion and got out. It was extremely quiet. Not a soul was in sight. Ash couldn't help but remember James, insisting that something big was going on. As they walked into the entrance hall, they saw a maid quickly exit through one of the side doors.

"I'll head after her and see if she knows anything," said Leon, taking off after her. Ash nodded.

"Alright, I'll be able to find you if I need to," he said, making his way forward. He was heading for the room he had been in earlier, where they had met Cain. He found the large room easily enough. It was straight ahead from the entrance hall on the same floor. Reaching the throne Ash couldn't help but touch it. It hadn't been that long ago that Cynthia had sat here, declaring him her enemy. He clenched his fist. He wouldn't let things stand as they were.

Closing his eyes Ash let his Aura pulse strongly throughout the entire area. This room was likely toward the center of the building so it would give him a better readout of the area. What he found was quite disturbing.

"There's no one here."

He did the pulse again, stronger than before. He could pick up the smallest animal over miles away, but there was practically nobody in this mansion. Nobody with any significant Aura at any rate. Cynthia was certainly not there. He could pick her aura out of a crowd of thousands. And if Cynthia was gone, Cain was surely gone as well.

"Gardevoir," said Ash, looking around the room and thinking of what to do.

"_Yes?"_ She appeared right next to him. Ash held out an arm.

"Walk with me, would you?" Gardevoir's eyes moved from his face to his arm.

"_Walk... with you?"_

"I could use the company."

"_O-Of course,"_ she said, wrapping her arms around his outstretched one. They made their way through the side door that Cain had left through the last time Ash was here. Hopefully there were some clues about as to where everyone went. While Ash looked around curiously, Gardevoir was quietly enjoying her moment of happiness. This was the first time she had ever gotten the chance to be so close with Ash for an extended period of time. Her small feet silently padded the marble floors as they made their way through halls and rooms. Turning down a hallway, they spotted a maid, different from the earlier one, approaching them. She quickly turned around to leave.

"Gardevoir, hold her there please," said Ash, not changing their pace at all. "Be gentle with her." Gardevoir glanced at the woman and suddenly she couldn't walk any further. Not sure why she had stopped moving she glanced down at her feet and saw that they were no longer touching the floor but were floating a few inches above it. She tried to touch the ground frantically but gave up eventually, slumping as she floated there.

"Haha, nice one Gardevoir, you're getting really good at controlling small amounts of your power, I'm really impressed," said Ash as they made their way toward the floating maid. Gardevoir just looked at the ground, increasing her pressure on Ash's arm ever so slightly. As they finally got within a few feet of the maid she smoothed out her dress, clearing her voice cutely.

"Can I- can I help you with anything?" she asked hesitantly, for all the world like she wasn't floating helplessly in the air. Ash just blinked at her, glancing from her feet, dangling there above the ground, to her face, which was becoming steadily redder.

"Should I flip you over and see what's under the dress?" asked Ash, making a twirly motion with his finger. The maid's blush deepened and she quickly put her hands on her dress as if she expected it to suddenly ride over her head. Ash guessed she was only a few years older than himself. "I'm kidding would you relax?" he said with a sigh. "You're cute, no doubt, but I'm not evil. I'll have her set you down if you promise not to run." The maid nodded. Ash looked pointedly at Gardevoir who gently lowered the maid to the floor. Ash half expected her to bolt but to his surprise she just fixed her dress again and stood up straight.

"Thank you, what can I help you with?" she asked, keeping one eye on Gardevoir.

"Where is Cain Bernhardt?" said Ash flatly.

"Master Cain left the mansion yesterday, as did most of the Guardians and his guest, excuse me," she corrected herself, "the Princess. Though if you ask me I don't see how princesses even exist in this day and age. She was pretty like one though," she added, smiling slightly. Ash blinked again. Apparently he had found a chatterbox.

"I'm actually trying to get to a couple of places in this mansion, do you think you could guide me?" he asked.

"Will I be lifted up and dragged along if I say no?"

"Quite so," said Ash grinning.

"Then I'd be happy to guide you," she said with a shrug. "Where do you want to go."

"Take me to the Princess's room first please."

XxxxX

Leon sat in a small room. It was lined with books and documents. He knew the look of the room very well. It was much like his own office at his home when he still lived with a family. This was without a doubt Cain's room. He had caught the maid easily and convinced her to talk about what was going on. Apparently most everyone had left the previous day for the Kanto region, though where in the region she didn't know. He let her go after getting her to lead him here. Not wanting to touch the computer on the desk until Ash arrived, he busied himself with going through the various books and documents, curious as to what had captured his old friend's attention.

Much of it were things he had seen before, however occasionally he would find something that didn't belong with the other things. The most obvious was an large photograph on his desk of an ancient looking wall. He instantly knew it was nothing he had ever seen before. There was a simplistic drawing of a human next to a Pokemon, which were both contained in a large swirl. Perhaps it was the sun? Or water? He had no idea. The other out of place item was a large binder that held pages of a journal easily over hundreds of years old in plastic sleeves so that they would be protected. Reading through the faded ink, it was written about the Eon Tribe, likely by a researcher of the time, though what time that was could have been anything. Where had he gotten such things?

"Well look at what you've got," said a voice from the door. Leon quickly looked up from the desk, hand going to his belt. Nier was standing there, leaning on the door frame. "Ah you really don't have to be on your guard around me, Leon Shirona." Leon blinked then slowly lowered his hand.

"Nier... How long have you known?"

"A long time," said Nier, coming into the room and looking around. "I've known about you since you met Claire. Actually, I've actually known Claire longer than you and Cain put together." Leon frowned.

"I don't remember her ever mentioning someone as, _unique_, as you," he said dryly. "If you knew her then you know that Cain and I were close. Why didn't you tell him?"

"He didn't need to know," said Nier. This was too strange. Leon wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Nier had always been Cain's underling as long as he could remember. Also, even though Nier said he knew Claire, Leon had never seen him until years after Claire had died. Leon stood, leaning on the desk.

"But I don't understand, you work for Cain don't you? Then why-"

"Please don't put me in the same sentence as that man," interrupted Nier. He narrowed his eyes. "True I work for him, but I have my own objectives. His were never a priority for me."

"So then what _are_ your objectives?" Nier just grinned.

"Revenge. Revenge of the most beautiful kind..."

XxxxX

"Here we are," said the maid, opening a door and moving aside to let Ash pass. However he tried she wouldn't give him her name, so she had simply remained 'the maid' in his mind.

"Thanks, but don't run off, we've still got another place to go after this one," he said, entering the room.

"I wouldn't dream of it," she grumbled. Ash grinned and looked around.

The room he was in was more elegant than anything he had ever seen in his life. No doubt this was all Cain's doing. Cynthia had always told him that she didn't like too much extravagance as it made her feel out of place. If that were true then this room would have made her feel more out of place than a Charizard in a fish tank or something. Did she enjoy it? Living in the lap of luxury...

"Ash, what are you doing here..." he muttered to himself. He had wanted to see where Cynthia was staying so strongly. What had he expected? Chains on the walls? A cage maybe? Why did a small part of him hope that she was being treated badly by Cain? Of course, after they had met, Cynthia had made it plain that such a thing couldn't be further from the truth. Still he couldn't bring himself to believe her completely. But what could he say, the room was something out of a fairy tail for sure. Something black on a chair caught his eye. It looked like a pile of clothing. Picking it up he realized that it was what she normally wore when she was going about as champion. The only difference was that this particular set of cloths...

"What the hell?" said Ash blankly, looking at all the rips in the cloth. "Was she actually wearing this?" He tried to imagine her wearing this and immediately felt the heat rise in his face.

"What are you doing?"

Ash turned quickly to see the maid leaning in the doorway, staring at him suspiciously. He looked at the clothing in his hands then quickly tossed it back on the chair. "Nothing, let's get to the next place."

"And where is that?"

"Cain's private rooms."

XxxxX

"The most beautiful... revenge?" repeated Leon slowly. Nier just leaned against a wall and smiled.

"Yes it's going to be magnificent, but I'll have to keep that to myself," he added with a small shrug. "Can't go spoiling all the surprises now, can I."

"I don't care what you're planning, but if you ever come close to my daughter I'll-" Leon broke off as he heard another pair of voices outside the door. One he recognized immediately.

"Are all of Cain's maids as cranky as you are?" asked Ash tiredly.

"When they're strung up in the air against their will, _yes!_" came the other voice, young and female. She was angry.

"Well then you should have just taken me straight here like I said," said Ash. They were quickly getting closer.

"Yes but was it necessary to spin me so much?" the girl countered miserably.

"Sorry, sorry. There, you're free. Thanks for the help," said Ash. Rapid footsteps told them that the girl had dashed away. The door was pushed open fully and Ash entered. "Ah, Leon, there you are. Who's-" Ash was now looking at Nier in curiosity. Before Leon could say anything the man gave a slight bow.

"Ash Ketchum, correct? I am the Night Courier, though you can call me Nier. I deliver things for Cain." Ash glanced at Leon before taking a step towards Nier.

"You said you deliver things? For Cain?"

"Well," said Nier, smiling eerily, "People, Pokemon, princesses, it's all the same-" Ash grabbed him by the collar and slammed him back into the bookshelf. A few loose books tumbled to the floor. "My, this has gotten quite aggressive suddenly, did I say something you didn't like?" He was still smiling.

"Bastard, where's Cynthia?" Ash growled, pulling Nier's face close to his own. Nier just chuckled.

"Ash, let him go, that won't get us anywhere," said Leon, sitting on the side of the desk. Ash hesitated for a moment then let Nier go, stepping back and closing the door with a snap. Nier remained unfazed, straightening his shirt.

"Where's the princess, you ask?" he said. "But in Rota of course."

"Dammit, we were right," said Ash, looking over at Leon. Cain had obviously taken most of the Royal Guardians that were stationed with him and gone to launch a preemptive strike against Queen. Ash could only hope that there were enough Guardians stationed at the town to prevent anything serious from happening. "What have you found here? Anything important?"

"Nothing in particular," said Leon, looking around again. "The stuff he has here is pretty standard for a researcher in Pokemon history and old cultures, I actually owned copies of most of the stuff here. This is what he had on his desk." Ash was handed the photo and the binder.

"What am I looking at?" he said, looking at the photo.

"No idea, honestly," said Leon shaking his head. "But that binder has an old journal written about the Eon Tribe. What?" he added, as Ash stared at him.

"Coincidence?" he muttered, looking through the binder. It looked ancient. His mind was racing. Was it even possible? It seemed so unlikely but even if there was a slight chance he had to ask... "Nier, how much do you know?"

"What makes you think I'd tell you anything?" he asked, looking at his fingernails.

"Gardevoir," said Ash coldly. Nier was pressed up against the bookcase again though this time he was a foot off the floor. Gardevoir's eyes flashed as she held them there, her face reflecting the mood of her trainer. "Answer me." Nier's smile slipped a small amount.

"I know enough," he said.

"Then tell me this," said Ash. "Is Cain working with Vince Korinek in any way?" Nier couldn't help but grin broadly.

"Good job, Mr. Ketchum," he said grandly. "I'd applaud you but, as you can see, I seem to be held up at the moment."

"It's true?" he asked, incredulous.

"Indeed it is," said Nier. "I can't imagine how you came to that conclusion but you must be more involved in the situation than you would appear to be. Their collaboration is truly at the height of secrecy."

"Then why do you know about it?" shot Leon.

"Because, I'm the Night Courier." Ash and Leon looked at each other. "Now would you kindly let me down? I have a proposition for you." Ash glared at him but nodded to Gardevoir who released the psychic hold. Nier dropped to the floor, catching himself before he fell over. "Thank you."

"Let's hear it Nier," said Leon. "We don't have time for games."

"I've been working for Cain for a long time, though it didn't used to be like that," said Nier, leaning back against the bookshelf again. "I actually used to be well positioned above him. However, certain events brought Cain up in the RG pretty quickly. Since then I've been working in a position that leans between gopher and second in command. Pretty tiresome actually, though lately..." a small smile lit his face, "I got to see something good. Anyway," he said, noting the agitated faces around him, "I think it's about time I did my own thing. My goals include making Cain delightedly upset, and yours include something along the same lines right? So let me use you to cause him some discomfort."

"Do you honestly think I'd work with a guy like you?" said Ash blankly.

"Though it hurts to hear it so bluntly, I have to agree with you," said Nier. "I'm not interested in working with you at all. I just know that you can cause him more trouble by being in Rota than by being here."

"And you have a way to get us there quickly?" asked Leon. Though Ash was probably a bit thrown by how odd Nier could be, this was really nothing new to him. Nier nodded.

"I was instructed to come posthaste after making sure the guardians from earlier- that's you by the way- were taken care of. Ah, but now I think on it one of you is missing... No matter. I've got a small airship that can take me there in a flash. Technology is quite something these days, you know? Also, something tells me you guys don't, though I could be mistaken..."

"Ash," said Leon, looking at him. Their eyes met for a moment and he nodded.

"Let's go," said Ash at once. He clenched his fist unconsciously. "I've got some business in Rota."

XxxxX

Queen Ilene sat in her room, quietly stroking her belly while humming an old lullaby her mother taught her. She was barely showing at all, but that didn't deny the fact that another human was slowly being created inside of her. It was too bad that neither of her parents were around to share her happiness. Actually when it came to blood, the child would really only have her and its father. Of course, that didn't mean it wouldn't have a large family. Ilene looked around her room spotting the various pictures that dotted furniture, all of her and the court. She never went a single day without the court around her, loving and caring. It was comforting to know they would be there for her child as well.

A low knock at the door brought her out of her reverie.

"Enter," she said, standing and brushing out her silky white gown. She knew that there was little time left before she could wear most of her regular clothing so these days she had been wearing her more form fitting dresses and gowns. A man wearing the standard outfit of a member of the castle guard opened the door, sinking to one knee immediately.

"Your Majesty, we have word from the town guard that a force of Aura Guardians has entered the town's limits from the south. They are clearly trying to get to the castle but the guard has them stopped for now. General Grannis requests your presence in the war room."

"Of course," said Ilene, moving to the door. "You may accompany me-"

_**BAAAM!**_

The castle was suddenly rocked by a huge explosion. Ilene covered her ears instantly, stumbling forward. The guard managed to catch her before she fell over.

"Wha- what was that!" he said, looking around. The ground still continued to quiver slightly. Ilene ran to the window of her room and looked out, gasping.

"Oh my god, the rear bridge!"

There were two ways to get into the castle. The north and south bridges had stood the test of time boldly, along with the castle, and were well maintained. The entire place was a historical relic, precious to those who lived there for centuries. Now, Ilene watched as more of the northern bridge fell into the lake, leaving a gaping hole in her heart. Who would do such a thing? Even for the other Guardian faction this was too much!

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" the guard asked.

"I'm fine, but the bridge-" She simply stood there in shock for a minute of silence. Even the guard didn't know what to do.

"Queen Ilene!"

A new man burst into the room, though he was no mere guard. Tall and built, clad in durable durable leather and chain mail armor, the man instantly moved to Ilene's side.

"General Grannis, the bridge..." said Ilene, forcing herself to look away from the scene. Such long history destroyed in a moment...

"I know, we are under attack," he said, rummaging in a pocket. He pulled out a small earpiece with a mic attached to it. "Please put this in," he said, handing it to her. "We need to all be in constant communication." Turning to the guard he said, "I will escort the Queen from here. Make your way to the main hall, that is where everyone will be receiving their orders shortly."

"Yes Sir!"

"I thought you were in the War Room," said Ilene, siting down. Her legs were still shaking.

"I was heading there, actually, but I saw the bridge explode from a window one floor down and I was close so I came running. I needed to speak to you quickly though so this is better."

"Then report," she said, taking a deep breath. "What is the current situation?"

"Come, I'll explain as we move." They left the bedroom and headed toward the main section of the castle. "A number of things have happened quite suddenly. A short while ago a group of Aura Guardians entered the southern gate of the town, heading for the castle. They were stopped by the town guard to be questioned but they attacked immediately. We knew that the Royal Guardians might attack soon so we were prepared for such an eventuality." Grannis paused frowning. "However, moments before the explosion I received a report that the town guard has been ambushed by another large group."

"More Royal Guardians?"

"No, they are not Aura Guardians so I don't believe so. It appears that they are working with another group to bolster their size. As to who that group may be, we have no idea."

"What about the citizens?"

"The evacuation is already well underway."

"Good," said Ilene, feeling relieved. "If they are truly serious about this attack then I doubt that they will stop with just the bridge. Tell me, as we are, will we be able to repel the attack?" Grannis turned to her. He had been the commander of the castle guard, and overall Rota's security for years. Could they hold against such an attack? In theory yes. With the castle guard and town guard working together, even a large attack could be stopped. But this was a day where war was all but nonexistent. The guard was not prepared to go into a heavy battle. Not like the RG had been preparing for so many years. But he didn't need to lie to her. She was not a puppet, nor was she frail.

"No, we will not," he said. Ilene nodded, moving doubly as fast.

"Then we need reinforcements from throughout the regions," she said, her brain making rapid calculations. "Though it will take time, we have the overwhelming advantage in numbers. Adding to that the many high level Guardians we possess, I am sure we will not fail." They reached the War Room. "Kanto and Johto will be the quickest, Element slightly longer, and Sinnoh by nightfall. Hoenn is quite far, however though we will request aid nonetheless." Turning to Grannis, Ilene suddenly put a hand on his chest. He stopped quickly, surprised.

"Kevin, protect the town as long as you can. Aid will come soon, but I need you with the Guardians." Ilene stepped back and smiled. "You are too good a leader to be in this room. I will coordinate with you, so don't worry." She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. Kevin Grannis simply sighed.

"Too good a leader... I'm the one who should be saying that to you." He put a hand to his ear, turning his mic back on. "This is General Grannis. Secure the south bridge and prepare a unit to move into the town... Who's leading it? _I am._"

XxxxX

Queen Ilene moved to the center of the room, all eyes on her. She pointed at five people in turn. "Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Element Island. I need reinforcement calls to every region right now. I want everyone here _today_." They scurried to computer stations. "I must contact the Elders. Also I want a constant update of the status of the battle in the town. It's just afternoon now... we have a long day ahead of us."

"Yes Ma'am!"

XxxxX

"Was that an explosion? It sounded like it came from the town." Cynthia looked out of the window of the car. Though to just call it a car would be like calling herself just a Pokemon trainer. She was sitting in what felt like a small limousine. Of course, she had gotten over how extravagant things were after a number of days living in a lavishly decorated room and wearing nothing but the most beautiful dresses. Even now she wore one, a form fitting dress of darkest black, flaring out at the bottom prettily. It matched her hair ornaments well. Surely she was wearing a fortune in silk. "Cain?" She looked at the man sitting across from her. He was smartly dressed as well, in a black suit and deep blue tie. It had interesting swirls on it that reminded her of aura spheres. About to say something, a muted humming starting coming from his chest.

"I'm sorry, Cynthia. This will be important," he said, pulling out his cell phone and flipping it open.

"It's alright," she said quickly with a smile. Back at the mansion Ash had said that she didn't belong with the Royal Guardians, but her experiences told her otherwise. Sure she didn't think she would stay forever but it wasn't as if they were holding her against her will. The day after she saw Ash, Cain had surprised her with her Pokemon, apologizing profusely for not having gotten them to her sooner. Cain also explained much of what the Royal Guardians did, and what their plans were with how to deal with the current Aura Guardian monarchy and what their course of action would be. Even though she had very little part in the operation at all, he told her every detail. He had always treated her like this, even when she was a little girl who didn't understand most of what was told. He still told her anyway.

"Is that so..." said Cain, closing his eyes. "Please continue then. She's with me, yes. Don't worry I will keep her safe." He closed the phone silently.

"What happened?" asked Cynthia quickly. It did not look like good news.

"You remember how I said the first part of the plan was to send in a group of negotiators? Diplomats, if you would..." he took a deep breath and let it out. "It appears that they were attacked without hesitation."

"That can't be... who would attack diplomats," said Cynthia, looking at the floor. Cain put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do not fear, there were some guards there just in case something like this happened," he said reassuringly. "Though I will not lie, I had hoped that the Queen would be more reasonable than this."

"What happens now?" asked Cynthia. Of course, she knew what was going to happen next. War. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to shut out the reality of it all. The Royal Guardians were fighting for her. The were getting hurt, possibly even worse, for _her_. She wasn't worth such sacrifice! Her seat sagged down slightly as a new weight positioned itself next to her. A warm arm extended around her shoulders.

"I can tell, you know," said Cain. Cynthia looked at him, half wanting to look away, half unable to. "I can tell you're thinking about the lives of the Guardians. I know you think it's your fault they are getting hurt."

"Isn't it though?" she said quietly, clenching her dress in her lap. "Why are they doing this for me, I've done nothing to be regarded in such a way." Cain sighed and sat back, looking at the roof of the limo. Cynthia watched him silently. He seemed to be thinking.

"How should I put this... Cynthia, everyone in the world has things that are important to them. Family, freedom, dreams, love... these are all things that people fight for. The strength with which they fight, their conviction, is dependent on how important those things are to them." Cain looked back down, meeting Cynthia's eyes. "I know it isn't something easily understood or even accepted, but you have a place of great importance to every member of the Royal Guardians. Hundreds of years of secrecy and protection have all been put into protecting your lineage. All in order to bring our rightful justice back to the world. The hopes and dreams of every Royal Guardian to ever live has been collected into you."

Cynthia just blinked, overwhelmed with it all. The magnitude of it all was just too much.

"But even that means little to us today," continued Cain.

"Wh- what do you mean?" said Cynthia.

"Put simply, regardless of what your ancestry is, you're still our most important treasure. We've watched you grow from the time you were just a little girl and couldn't be more proud. Your importance to us knows no limit. And that's why we fight." Cain withdrew his arm from around her shoulders and moved to the door. "I need to make a few more calls. Think on what I said." He closed the door behind him. Cynthia slowly fell on her side, thudding the seat cushion softly.

"It's too much," she murmured, closing her eyes. "Too much and I don't know what to do. What am I supposed to do?"

XxxxX

Cain walked away from the limo, nodding to the four guards standing around it. They wouldn't let another soul near the vehicle without his permission. Alone at last he pulled out his phone and flipped through the contacts. Finding the right number he hit the dial button. It rang three times before picking up.

"This is the Night Courier!" came a jovial voice. "You need things, I get the-"

"Nier, how many times have I told you not to answer your phone like that."

"Sorry, Mr. Bernhardt," he said. Something shifted in the background.

"What was that sound?"

"It's nothing, Sir. Just a couple of stowaways."

"Your sense of humor is really lacking right now. What's your status?" asked Cain, shaking his head.

"I took care of our problems here and am on my way right now," said Nier. "I should be in Rota by nightfall."

"Excellent," said Cain, smiling. "The stage has been set. Now it just awaits its performers." He hung up, laughing to himself. "And by midnight tonight a new age of humanity will begin."


	21. The Gathering

Element Island  
3:12pm

Miranda sat with Sonia and Aria in the dining hall. They had just come from the medical ward where Miranda had her rehabilitation twice a day. Though she had only moved a grand total of a dozen feet, she felt like she had run a marathon, and had an appetite to match. The two older women watched as the girl consumed enough food for three people.

"Jeez, where do you put it all?" said Aria, lifting Miranda's shirt to look at her belly. She quickly pushed her shirt down.

"Don't do that here," said Miranda quietly, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. Everyone appeared to be preoccupied but her sharp hearing betrayed them all. She and Aria were the center of attention... again.

"Oh come on," said the cheerful woman, not bothering to keep her voice down. "Don't be embarrassed, I'm your doctor. I've seen it all." Sonia just put a hand to her forehead with a sigh. Suddenly an alarm sounded throughout the room, causing Sonia to jump to her feet. Guardians everywhere were doing the same, some with pieces of food and spoons sticking out of their mouths.

"What's going on?" said Miranda quickly, looking around. Her ears hurt from the loud noise. Sonia however just shook her head and put a finger to her lips.

"Attention all Guardians, attention all Guardians," came a loud voice that filled the room. Miranda recognized it as Commander Meres. "This is an emergency. All Guardian ranked personnel are to report to the hanger ready for full combat in fifteen minutes. This is not a drill. Get moving!" At once, the majority of people eating their meals left the room, the remaining ones standing there looking around in confusion and concern. What was going on?

"Sonia!" Ember came into the dining hall at a jog. She was wearing a Guardian uniform that Miranda had never seen before. It looked somewhat like armor.

"Ember, what's going on?" asked Sonia as Ember reached them. Aria remained sitting, watching silently.

"We just got a call for reinforcements from Rota. The Royal Guardians have begun their attack in force." Sonia cursed. "You're bodyguard job's been put on hold for now. Get ready and head to the hanger."

"Yes Ma'am!" said Sonia with a salute. She ran out of the room. Ember turned to Miranda.

"I'm sorry Miranda but I need you to stay in the mansion while we are gone," she said, looking around at the few remaining people in the hall. Even a number of the cooks had left to get ready for the battle.

"You said the Royal Guardians are attacking? That's not the Hunters, who are they?"

"I don't have time to explain," said Ember. She put a hand on Miranda's shoulder. "Just do me a favor and do as I say? Ash would have my head if I let anything else happen to you while he was gone." Miranda said nothing. She did not like being left in the dark, but it looked as if this were truly a bad situation. As Ember made to leave though, Miranda impulsively grabbed her hand.

"Wait, take me with you!" she said. Ember nearly fell over.

"Are you serious? You're in a wheelchair!" she said impatiently. Miranda flinched but held her ground.

"This is a really bad situation right?" she asked, redoubling her grip on Ember's hand. Ember looked down at it before nodding. "And you need all the help you can get, am I right?"

"Well yeah, but you're-"

"Do you honestly something as minor as being able to walk would effect how I battle?"

"You never know-"

"Ember," said Miranda, stopping the girl short. "I'm strong. Let me help, alright?" Ember just sighed raggedly. This was an awful idea.

"Alright, alright, you can come," she said, closing her eyes. "Just, get your Pokemon and get to the hanger asap. Aria, you're coming too."

"Roger!" she said, backing Miranda up from the table. "Come on Miranda let's get ready fast!" They zoomed off. Ember just stood there, the look in Miranda's eyes still clear in front of her own. She put her head in her hands.

"Dad and Ash are going to _kill_ me."

XxxxX

3:30pm

Gabriel Meres paced back and forth slightly in front of the assembled Guardians. They were about to load into the largest and fastest airship the Element Division had. The hanger was underground behind the mansion, so it was fairly well concealed. With a retractable roof, they could lift out vertically and be on their way. The crew of the airship was already getting the ship ready though so he wasn't thinking about that at the moment. What was causing him to pace had just arrived in a wheelchair, pushed by his chief of the medical department.

"Aria," he said after a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"Reporting for duty, Sir," she beamed. Miranda glanced back at her nervously and tried to shrink into the wheelchair as much as she could.

"...Of course," said the Commander. "I'll be counting on you." Ember finally entered the hanger, harrying stragglers.

"All Guardians reporting for duty, S-Sir," she said, faltering as her father looked at her sharply. "Uh, plus one extra..." Ah crap, he's mad. But he just turned back to the Guardians.

"Rota is under attack by a group know as the Royal Guardians," he said, his voice carrying throughout the large room. "Reinforcements have been requested from every region as well as us on Element Island. Though it will take us a few hours to get there when we do we will be jumping directly into the fray. Further instruction will be given during the trip. Move out!"

As the large group of Guardians filed into the airship, Gabriel looked at his daughter then at Miranda.

"I saw you fight during the earlier battle so I don't question your ability, however I will not be responsible if anything happens to you."

"That's alright," said Miranda. "Please let me come."

"Let's be off then, we have no time to lose."

XxxxX

Rota  
6:02pm

General Grannis stood atop a building, surveying the square below him. The battle, which had now been going on for almost three hours was not progressing in their favor. What had originally started as a battle at the edge of the town was now half way to the castle. Though the RG lost greatly in terms of numbers, they had a very high percentage of powerful Aura Guardians in their ranks. What prevented them from being flooded was due to the group of non Aura Guardians that were with them. Grannis didn't know where they came from, but Cain Bernhardt had secured a powerful ally. The immediate thought he first had was Team Rocket. They were a strong and well funded group based in Kanto, but he dismissed the thought at once. As large as the group might be, they never went anywhere without their dreadfully obvious uniforms. One thing was certain however. This group had the size and resources of a regional criminal organization.

There was a large explosion off to the east. He could see a few buildings on fire.

"Che- they certainly have the the mindset of criminals, that's certain," he muttered to himself. He switched on his mic. "This is Grannis. I need two squads to the eastern section of the town to contain the fire. Stop it before it destroys more buildings!"

"General, what is our status?" came Queen Ilene's voice in his ear.

"Your Majesty, the battle is currently at a standstill but we are steadily losing ground," he said, looking below. "The main battle is happening in the center square however there are groups of RG throughout the town causing chaos. " Grannis ducked an Ice Beam aimed at his head and began running along the edge of the roof. Attacks continued to shoot at him. "We've already received a number of reinforcements from Kanto but the RG continue to reinforce as well. They are pushing very hard with everything they have. Cain Bernhardt must know that time is his enemy in this battle. On top of that I have no idea where our Johto reinforcements are. They should have been here over an hour ago." The line of Guardians and their Pokemon were slowly retreating to the northern end of the square, still protecting the main road to the castle from being used.

"This is annoying," came Ilene's voice. She sounded frustrated.

"What's going on?"

"We still haven't been able to determine who the group of mercenaries is," said Ilene. She was at a computer, moving through a large list of faces that were being matched up with video surveillance taken from the town. "All I can tell is that there's a lot of them. Cain must be paying a fortune for all of them together."

"I wasn't aware the RG was so well funded," said Grannis.

"The Royal Guardians come from old money," said Ilene. "They're no different from us in that respect." Grannis watched as an armored vehicle joined the rear of the RG front. Three people got out, dressed differently from the others in the square. He could feel their aura from the roof. Looking around the square he figured he was the only person who could see them simply because of his vantage point. About to radio it in he stopped. Three Dragonite and three Garchomp appeared next to them, taking positions in a line. They started to glow orange...

"All units in the center square fall back! Get out of the square!" he shouted. He ran across the roof as fast as he could as six large bullets shot into the sky, splitting numerous times before beginning to fall. Six Draco Meteor attacks at once. He could feel the ground shake as the meteors fell. Diving to the side, one meteor plowed a hole straight down into the roof, crushing the floors below. He could hear his men and their Pokemon who couldn't escape in time scream in pain as they hit.

"Grannis, jump!"

Not knowing exactly what would happen he jumped off the end of the roof as far as he could. Something grabbed his shoulders and he didn't fall. Looking behind him he could see many of the building around the square, including the one he had just been on, collapse in heaps. He hoped that no one was in them. Looking up all he saw was tan colored feathers.

"Nice catch Pidgeot," said a woman's voice. Though he couldn't see her, Grannis recognized it instantly.

"Annette, nice of you to come join me," he said. The woman cleared her throat.

"That's General Hale to you, Kevin Grannis," said the voice. Grannis grinned. He knew she would be doing the same. The Pidgeot let go of him when he was a few feet from the ground and landed as well. They were now much closer to the castle. General Hale jumped down from her Pokemon and recalled it. "Thanks Pidgeot, take a break, you'll need it. Sorry I'm late," she added to Grannis who shrugged.

"Better late than never," he said. "Where were you?"

"Sorry, we moved as fast as we could. How are you holding out?"

"Not well," said Grannis. "Your arrival couldn't have been more needed." He tossed her an earpiece identical to the one he gave the queen which she put in her ear at once.

"Your Majesty, this is General Hale," she said. "Johto's Aura Guardians are here to lend support."

"Thank god, Annette," said Ilene with relief. "I'm so glad you're finally here. Assist General Grannis in any way you can."

"Yes Ma'am!" As she said this an airship made its way into view in the western sky, approaching fast. It was followed by two smaller ones. Hale tossed a walkie talkie to Grannis who caught it looking confused. "I don't know the situation. While my Guardians are still in their ships tell them where to deploy, it'll make things easier."

"Right," said Grannis. "Johto force this is General Grannis, come in."

"This is the Falcon, General Grannis, we have you loud and clear. What are your orders?"

"Deploy the main ship's troops on the road leading off of the south bridge," he said quickly. "I want the main road reinforced. Have the other two ships deploy over the eastern and western sides of town. Contain the RG presence in those areas and push them south. Do everything you can to prevent them from reaching the castle!"

"Yes Sir. Orders received."

"What's the situation?" asked Hale, taking the radio back. They begin moving south toward the raging battle.

"Though The RG seem to be focusing there strongest forces in the center a lot of the merc group is causing damage everywhere. They're trying to get us to divert our attention from the castle defense." Hale frowned. "Unfortunately we can't contain all of them the way we want to. You're troops will help suppress that but it won't fix it."

"So what's the plan right now?" asked Hale. Grannis grabbed a pokeball from his belt, and Hale copied him.

"Isn't it obvious? We show these guys why we're called Generals!"

XxxxX

6:50pm

Cain sat in a folding chair that that was placed outside the limo and listened to reports as they came in. The Guardians had just gotten a fresh wave of reinforcements, most likely from Johto. That would mean that two of the Cardinal Generals were now in Rota: the East General, Grannis, and the West General, Hale. They were certainly formidable opponents and would not go down easily, however they were just two people after all, and two people would not be able to turn the tide of a war. And though is was on a distinctly smaller scale than any other conflict in history, this _was_ a war. A war he would win. He picked up the headset on his lap and settled it over his ears.

"This is Cain. We will now move into the next phase of the attack," he said calmly. "The center wave will retreat slightly, in order to pull the Guardians forward. Once they take the bait flank them from the east and west. This will allow us to push through to the bridge. Additionally, Aerial Team begin your bombardment of the bridge. I need it clear, or at least somewhat clear before I will be able to take the Princess into the castle. Begin immediately. We must have broken through the bridge defense before any more reinforcements arrive for our enemies, else this will become more difficult still." Taking off the headset, Cain stood up and walked over to the limo door. He knocked twice then opened it.

"What is it Cain?" asked Cynthia. She was looking out of her window at the smoke rising into the sky in the distance, an empty wine glass in her hand. The picture of elegance.

"Cynthia, it is nearly time for us to make our way to the castle. I need you to come with me to prepare," he said, holding out his hand. She took it immediately.

"Right, lead the way."

As they left the limo Cain looked at one of the guards. "You know what to do," he said to the burly man. He bowed.

"Yes, Mr. Bernhardt." Cain just smiled.

XxxxX

6:55pm

"They're pulling back!" shouted one of the Guardians jubilantly. Those around him gave an energetic roar and pushed forwards, their Pokemon launching attacks with renewed vigor.

"Stay in formation!" shouted Hale a split second before Grannis did. She grinned at him and continued, "Don't get overconfident! Keep to your lines and move forward steadily. Though I'll admit," she added to Grannis, speaking so that only he could hear her, "out men could certainly use this break." She and Grannis had only gotten the chance to battle a few opponents so far, the boost from the Johto troops giving the group added strength. While the Kanto group was more mixed in offensive and defensive Pokemon, the Johto groups were distinctly more on the offensive. It was a welcome addition, and it looked like it was having some effect. Smiling, something flashed in the corner of his eye and he dove to the side, knocking Hale out of the way. A hyperbeam scorched the air where they had been standing moments before, burying itself into the building across the street, causing the roof to collapse.

"AMBUSH! We've been flanked!" shouted Grannis as RG flooded the street from the east and west. Now they were surrounded on three sides. The confident Guardians were suddenly panicking and trapped.

"Keep to your formation! Tighten your ranks!" shouted Hale, scrambling to her feet and throwing out two of her Pokemon, a Typhlosion and a Nidoqueen. Grannis copied her, throwing out two Pokemon of his own, a Blastoise and a Nidoking. They were back to back surrounded by enemies.

"Well, this is a bit of a mess isn't it?" said Grannis.

"Back to back, surrounded by enemies. Death stares us in the eyes. Are you finally going to confess your love for me?" said Hale with a grin. Grannis just rolled his eyes.

"Please keep your fantasies to yourself."

"You're no fun at all."

"How about we show these RG what is means to face two of the Cardinal Generals."

"Grannis of the East!"

"Hale of the West!"

"We stand ready!" Their Pokemon roared their approval at their trainer's spirit.

"Nidoqueen, Earthquake!" shouted Hale. The Pokemon slammed the ground causing everything to shake. A number of the RG fell over. Pieces of the buildings on either side of the road crumbled and fell into the street, scattering people and Pokemon alike. "Now Typhlosion, Fire Spin!" Typhlosion shot a tornado of flame covering half of the street.

"This won't stop us!" came a shout from behind the wall of flame. "Rhydon, Drill Run!" A rapidly spinning Pokemon burst through the flames aiming straight for Hale.

"Blastoise!" shouted Grannis, grabbing Hale and pulling her aside. Blastoise shot a massive burst of water, rocketing the Rhydon straight into a building. "Nidoking, Mega Punch!" Nidoking quickly waded into his opponents with a haughty grin, knocking them aside left and right.

"Get in there Typhlosion! Nidoqueen on the defensive!" The two Pokemon moved into the other half of the group, Typhlosion swinging around wildly and spitting fire while Nidoqueen covered his back from anything too serious, deflecting incoming attacks.

"How long do you plan on holding on to me?" asked Hale, eyebrows raised. Grannis dropped her.

"When are you going to stop purposely getting in the way of attacks to force me to save you?"

"Ouch," she said, though she grinned slightly. "Looks like there are people slipping past us and moving to the castle."

"Don't worry about that," said Grannis, knocking over an enemy with a punch while his Pokemon continued to waste everything in front of him. "We need to make sure that a large wave doesn't get through here. A handful of guys won't make it past the bridge defense.

"They're not alone!" said Hale, pointing up to the sky. A large number of flying Pokemon were flashing above them in the air. They were heading straight for the bridge.

"Crap! This is General Grannis," he said loudly as he dodged another attack. "There is a large number of aerial enemies heading for the bridge! Repel them!" A large force suddenly hit his back, blasting him forward several feet and landing in a heap.

"Kevin!" shouted Hale. "Typhlosion! Flamethrower!" While her Pokemon created another wall of flame to hold their opponents back she quickly ran over to Grannis, who was groaning. His armor had protected his skin from being damaged but he still looked like he had been knocked over with a beam of steel. "Kevin are you alright?"

"It always amazes me how Pokemon can take hits like that and then get up," he said through gritted teeth, pushing himself to his feet. "Nidoking return!" He recalled his tired Pokemon and chose another. "Electivire! Help hold them back!" His Pokemon materialized releasing bolts of lightning. Many of the RG retreated slightly, allowing the Guardians to surge forward.

"There's no end to this," said Hale, still holding onto Grannis. She was afraid that he would fall over if she let go.

"Annette, I'm fine," said Grannis. "I'm most worried about the bridge. I need you to take Pidgeot and assist in any way you can. We can't let them get into the castle!" Hale hesitated. She didn't want to leave him here but she knew he was right.

"Alright, I'll leave you Typhlosion and Nidoqueen. Just keep in touch," she said, tapping her ear. She called out her Pidgeot and hopped up, flying off to the bridge like a bullet. More RG continued to push their lines. Cain Bernhardt truly had a force of powerful trainers to be able to cause them this much of a problem. Wincing slightly from his injury, Grannis gave a yell and charged back into the fray.

XxxxX

7:12pm

"What's the status of the bridge?"

"Your Majesty, a group of aerial units has completely swarmed the Guardians on the bridge. Though General Hale is there we are still losing control."

"I don't understand, how can the Royal Guardians have such strength? They're a bunch or renegades!"

"Renegades they may be but they certainly have shown that they can be tenacious. Of course, without the aid of the mercs we would have completely crushed them already."

"You really think that? The mercenaries are barely more than bodies to the RG. They don't coordinate well like the RG troops and are more interested in destroying the town than attacking the castle. We're lucky that they haven't set their eyes on us yet."

"Don't talk such nonsense, mercenaries and the RG are barely holding on. They may have superior coordination to us, but we still have yet to receive aid from Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Element. They were vastly outmatched to begin with."

"Perhaps you should stop talking about what may be and start looking at what is really happening here. We are losing!"

"Silence!" Ilene snapped. Everyone in the war room stopped talking at once. "It is not a matter of their strength but of our weakness. We were thoroughly unprepared to deal with any sort of a battle. The last time the Guardians actually had a battle of any organized manner was hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Though we explored other options that wouldn't lead to this, Cain Bernhardt wanted it. The fact remains that at present we are not the dominant power in this conflict. Now stop complaining and get back to work!" Ilene left the war room in a huff, slamming the door behind her. She paused for a moment and placed her ear on the door.

"Ahh, she looked really mad."

"When was the last time she shouted at us? That was scary."

"God every time I think about how grown up she is it brings a tear to my eye."

"She's just worried about everyone fighting out there."

"Yeah well let's not forget who _we're_ fighting for."

"Right."

Ilene grinned broadly. While normally that may not have worked like it just did, each and every one of the people in that room had either changed her diapers or walked with her through town or read stories to her while she sat on their knees. They knew what was important, though sometimes they just needed a sharp kick in the ass. The castle shook violently in time with a loud explosion. It sounded like it came from the front.

"What happened?" she said quickly into her mic.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty," came Hale's voice. She sounded extremely tired. "It looks like Cain is finally making his big push for the castle. The squad of dragons just blew a straight line through our defenses on the bridge and made a hole in the front of the castle. The RG are almost across the bridge now. I'll do what I can to hold them off but it wont last at all."

"Hang in there, you'll have backup in a moment!" said Ilene, now running to the front entrance. After a minute she came to the throne room. There were three squads of Guardians there, waiting patiently. Ilene felt her heart sink greatly. Was this all they had left? But there was no time to regret anything.

"Your Majesty!" said one of the Captains, noticing her. Everyone looked around in surprise. As she walked over, the Captain moved close to her, speaking softly. "Your Majesty you shouldn't be here it isn't safe at all."

"I'm done being a voice at the other end of a headset," said Ilene fiercely. "It's time to move." The Captain just blinked, slightly bemused at the sudden change in character the Queen was showing.

"Ah, yes Ma'am!" Ilene moved to the front of the group.

"All squads follow me! We will reinforce General Hale at the entrance! Show me your resolve!"

XxxxX

7:20pm

Hale fell to the ground, her vision blurred. Her Pidgeot, Arcanine, and Alakazam were all unconscious, lying around her in defeat. Struggling back to her feet, she watched a wall of approaching RG, including the dragon group get closer and closer. There were dozens of unconscious Guardians and RG in front of her. She had repelled three waves of enemies but could hold out no longer. A Lucario's Aura Sphere shot from the group and landed directly on her shoulder, knocking her back onto the ground.

_'I can't move.'_

The group parted slightly to give two of the dragons a clear shot. They charged hyperbeams.

_'Is this really it?'_

There was a flash of light. Hale closed her eyes, bracing for the impact...! But it never came.

"Oh my, Annette, you poor thing," came a voice from out of her vision.

"Queen Ilene," said Hale softly. Small hands turned her onto her back, allowing her to look up into her savior's eyes. Ilene just looked down at her.

"Don't worry, I'll fix you up so you can move," she said. To the others around her she said fiercely, "Don't let their strength scare you! Work together to take the dragons down!" An Aggron moved directly in front of them, protecting them from the line of fire.

"Your Majesty, why are you out here, it's too dangerous," said Hale, trying to get up. It was no use, there was no strength left in her body.

"Would you stop that already?" said Ilene, pushing the woman completely to the ground. "Just hold still for a second." Ilene closed her eyes holding her hands over Hale's chest. Her chest began to feel warm, like she was under a beam of bright sunlight. It was easier to breathe. Ilene moved her hands over various parts of Hale's body, causing the aches to vanish, still her eyes closed all the while. Finally she put her hands on Hale's head. Her mind became less muddled and her vision cleared almost at once. Then it was over. Hale sat up immediately.

"Wow," she said, looking at her body. "What did you do?"

"You've never been healed by an auric medic before?" asked Ilene, surprised. Hale just shook her head. "Well then you should know I didn't actually heal you. You're still badly injured."

"Really? I feel like you healed me though," said Hale, getting to her feet. "I couldn't even see straight a few seconds ago." Ilene lightly slapped Hale's shoulder causing her to yelp in pain.

"See?"

"Well, if you didn't heal me what _did_ you do?" Hale asked, recalling her Pokemon. They moved to the back of the group where it was safer. The Aggron moved from a defensive position to all out attack. "Aura isn't magic or anything. I just resupplied some vigor and supported natural healing," said Ilene. She bent next to a kneeling Guardian and put her hands on his back. His expression of pain turned into one of relief.

"Thanks, Your Majesty," he said, hurrying back forward to fill the gaps in the line. They were holding well, despite the situation.

"In all honesty, it's more like doping than anything," she continued, moving from injured Guardian to Guardian, helping ease their pain. "I really shouldn't be doing this but what choice do we have. I'll continue to support you all with everything I have! We'll hold out until the rest of our forces arrive!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" shouted the Guardians.

XxxxX

8:14pm

"Commander Meres, we've arrived. Thirty seconds until we're directly over the town. Where should we deploy?"

"Hover her right up against the side of the bridge, we'll deploy directly on it."

"Yes Sir."

Gabriel mad his way to the back of the ship where his Guardians had all piled in hours before. They all sat there waiting, but ready for action. He moved to the middle of the group and raised his hand. Everyone watched him closely.

"We're deploying directly on the bridge leading to the castle. I don't need reports to tell me that the castle and town have likely both been overrun with RG. Everyone to the left of my hand will move into the town, reinforcing the main road and spreading out slowly in a fan. Everyone to my right will proceed directly into the castle. I'm not sure how we'll find it but don't stop moving until you find something. If it's one of our own, protect him. If not, take him out." The airship was slowing its decent. They were almost ready.

"Miranda," continued Gabriel to the girl sitting in the wheelchair. She had been directly in front of him.

"Yes uh Commander?"

"You go with the group to secure the town. I gather you're more suited to open areas when battling, so feel free to go wild." Miranda grinned and nodded. The ship suddenly came to a stop.

"Ready to deploy, Commander."

"Open the doors!" he shouted. One of the ships crew at the back of the room operated the console and the large doors lowered outwards like ramps. They came to rest on the edge of the bridge; a perfect landing.

"I'll be sure to give the pilot some candy. Move out!" he shouted, jumping down on the bridge. As his troops filed out and split up he called out to Ember. "Ember, you're with me!"

"I can handle myself, Commander," she said, feeling agitated. Was he really going to keep her with him for her safety?

"I don't doubt that girl, I need your abilities," he said patiently. Ember blinked.

"Oh, sorry," she said feeling slightly guilty she had snapped at him.

"Don't worry about it, we need to move," he repeated. The airship lifted back up and moved off. Gabriel and Ember ran after the Guardians now rushing to the castle. It was clearly damaged in various places, though the most obvious was the destroyed entrance. "We need to find the Queen and make sure she is safe."

"Right, let's hurry."

XxxxX

8:17pm

Miranda made her way down the street which was littered with debris. Flareon, Jolteon, and Umbreon all stood guard around her while Espeon used Psychic to clear a decent path so she could make her way around. The Element Guardians were already well past her, and had fanned out into the town. Aria stuck close to her as well, keeping an eye on their surroundings and one hand near her pokeballs, just in case.

"Someone's ahead of us," said Miranda, pointing down the road. "He looks injured." She could see a man leaning in a doorway, his mouth moving rapidly as though he were speaking to someone, but there was no one else there. As they got closer the man spotted them, though what he could have possibly been thinking when he saw a girl in a wheelchair strolling through a battlefield was anyone's guess.

"Are you alright?" called Aria to the man. Miranda looked at her.

"What if he's the enemy?" she pointed out.

"Oh dear you're right," she said. "Are you with the Queen or the Royal Guardians?" she called out. Miranda just sighed. There was just no hope with this woman. Apparently however he wasn't an enemy, as he walked over to them with his arms out.

"I serve the Queen," he said. "I'm General Grannis. Are you Guardians from Sinnoh?"

"No we're from Element," said Aria, looking him up and down carefully. "Hold still." She moved around his back and placed her hands lightly on either side of his head. Grannis's eyes widened after a moment.

"You're a Healer? Thank you," he said while Aria worked on him. "This area was pretty active up until recently but there's barely fighting going on in the main streets now. The RG are spread out throughout the town and still fighting in small groups, though a large group of them have infiltrated the castle. General Hale was trying to hold them off but..." he broke off. Clearly the battle had not gone as they had hoped.

"Well it should be alright now," said Miranda. She could hear the smallest humming but she couldn't tell where it was coming from. "Commander Meres took half of the Guardians and went into the castle to support. I'm sure the Queen will be safe."

"I hope so," said Grannis. Aria had finished and walked back beside Miranda. He nodded his thanks to her. "If the reinforcements from Element just arrived then the ones from Sinnoh should be here quite shortly as well. They are about the same distance."

"Something's coming," said Miranda, pointing down the road. The humming was much louder now. She could make out a number of bulky vehicles as well as two sleek shorter ones. "Cars?" Grannis cursed.

"_More_ reinforcements?" he groaned. "Where is Bernhardt getting them all? Was the RG really always this big?"

"Don't worry, I can handle them," said Miranda, wheeling herself forward.

"Just be careful," said Aria. She pulled at Grannis. "Just because I made you feel better doesn't mean you actually are," she said when he protested. "You're lucky to be alive, the condition you're in." Grannis growled but stopped resisting. In the last hours many of his comrades hadn't been as lucky as he had. It would be a long time before he would be able to forget this day.

"Alright I won't do anything but you can't honestly expect me to believe that a girl in a wheelchair can stop a convoy of RG," he said thickly.

"She's special," said Aria with a smile. She looked at the group of vehicles. "But why are there two limos at the head of the group. It's quite odd."

"Espeon, turn the wheels, make them crash!" shouted Miranda, pointing at the limos. While the other vehicles seemed to be slowing down, the limos maintained their high speed. Espeon glowed purple briefly and suddenly both limos jerked sharply sideways, taking them into opposite buildings on the sides of the street. At once both buildings were completely engulfed in fire. The explosions were so large that the force easily pushed Miranda backwards, causing the chair to topple over. Aria and Grannis were also pushed back off of their feet, landing in a heap.

"Are you alright?" asked Jolteon, quickly. Miranda's other Pokemon huddled around her. Espeon lightly lifted her and the wheelchair, placing them properly on the ground.

"Yes, I'll be alright," said Miranda, rubbing her aching ears. "What was that!"

"Those weren't normal explosions," said Grannis, pulling Aria to her feet. "Those limos must have been filled with explosives. Maybe they were targeting the bridge?"

"I don't think we have time to think about that," said Aria, pointing at the fresh wave of RG coming at them. She grabbed a pokeball at the same time Grannis did. "Miranda, be careful."

"I'll be fine," she said with a grin, tossing out her remaining four Pokemon. "Let's go you guys!"

XxxxX

Cynthia watched as the two limos crashed into the building, however she was not prepared for the explosions that followed.

"Cynthia!" Cain said in alarm, catching her as she flinched back. "Are you alright?"

"Cain, the limo I was just in was completely destroyed," she said with wide eyes. She had just recently taken a nap in one of those limos. Seeing what had become of them made her shudder.

"Yes, they were decoys to draw attention, however I didn't think the Guardians would attack them so violently," he said, still keeping an arm around Cynthia's waist. Cynthia looked back at him and he blinked. Another face, almost identical to hers had just flashed in front of his eyes. He just stared, unable to say anything.

"Cain? Are you alright?" said Cynthia quickly. She touched his face lightly. "You look a little pale."

"It's nothing Cynthia, thank you," said Cain quickly. "I was struck with the thought of you being caught in that explosion and... well never mind. I'm glad it wasn't so." They resettled themselves on their ride, Cain's Salamance. It was dark enough now that they weren't easily spotted among the gray clouds in the sky. They would shortly be making their way into the castle, but Cain was waiting for one more thing. The headset suddenly crackled.

"Cain, it's me," said a male voice. "Are you there?"

"I'm here, my friend," he said, looking around. The sky was completely clear. Of course, when it came to Vince Korinek you could never be certain.

"I'm ready," said Korinek. "Where should I meet you?"

"Make your way to the throne room, I'll see you there," said Cain. The transmission cut out. "It's time Cynthia, are you ready? It's going to be dangerous."

"I'm ready, I want to end this conflict as soon as possible. For everyone," she added.

"Then hang on tight!"

XxxxX

8:20pm

Meanwhile, aboard a certain invisible ship, in a certain utility closet, a certain pair of people listened to what was going on just outside the door.

"We're finally here it seems," said a male voice.

"About time," said a woman. "I can't believe how many times we played that damn game. I'm never looking at another pack of cards for as long as I live."

"Hmm, it sounds like we're here," said Corey, standing carefully with a stretch. He looked at the still sitting woman opposite him. Who would have thought that the infamous Hunter J could be cute when she was asleep.

"Something to say?" she asked, her voice carrying that ever present hint of danger that so well matched her character. Corey quickly shook his head. "Then I say it's about time we left." Before Corey could do anything Nel got up and opened the closet door, pushing him out.

"What the- who the hell are you!" shouted one of the startled Hunters.

"Salamance, Flamethrower please," said Nel tossing the pokeball out almost as an afterthought. Corey watched her stretch grandly as her Pokemon torched half of the room, causing the panicked Hunters to run screaming. "Ready to go Corey?"

"Uhh yeah..." he said, watching the poor Hunters. "I think I can operate one of these doors open with-" but Nel just overrode him.

"Salamance Hyperbeam." The dragon Pokemon blasted a large hole in the side of the room, causing the air to rush forward and out of the opening furiously fast. Nel grabbed Corey and pulled him onto Salamances back. "Let's go!" They jumped through the hole to find themselves high over a town with a small lake next to it that had a large castle at its center. Corey looked back to see a strange sight. Though the sky was almost empty, there was a small square of metal with a large hole in it just hanging there. It looked like a hole to a different dimension or something.

"Any idea where we are?" asked Nel as they got lower to the town. Corey nodded.

"Yeah only one place I've ever heard of that looks like this," he said. "That's obviously the Tree of Beginning." He pointed to a giant tree shaped thing far away. "So this is definitely Rota. We're in Kanto, north of Pewter City."

"Pretty," said Nel, looking around. "I especially like the huge amounts of fire and destruction this place has. My kind of atmosphere."

"Can you not say thing's like that when I'm forced to hold on to you?" whined Corey. Nel just grinned and took them into a dive, taking them closer to the town. There was certainly a huge battle going on, though between who Nel couldn't tell. She told Salamance to get closer. As much more came into focus, she blinked. There in the center of the town was a fantastical light show of colorful attacks. And there, at the heart of that mess was a small figure. There was no way...

"Nel what are you doing?" shouted Corey as they accelerated towards the ground. "What about Korinek! Isn't he back on the ship?"

"Don't ask questions!" shouted Nel back. The small figure grew ever larger. The person was surrounded by a number of differently colored Pokemon and looked to be sitting in a chair. She didn't want to believe it but there was no doubt about it.

_'Dammit what are you doing _here_?'_

XxxxX

8:24pm

"Resonate with the lightning! Jolteon Thunderbolt!"

The empowered attack lashed out in several directions, tearing up cobblestone and forcing their opponents back for fear of being fried. Several Pokemon were instantly knocked out. Miranda moved her wheelchair back slowly. Though she could provide her Pokemon with added power to an extent, battling while confined to a wheelchair was causing her far more problems than she originally thought it would. Also, there were dozens of opponents and only three of them.

"This isn't looking good," said Grannis, recalling his fifth Pokemon. Most of his Pokemon were completely wiped from fighting all day. All he had left was one more. He threw it out regardless. "Primape, stay close!"

"Miranda, we should try to retreat a bit," said Aria. Her Pokemon, a Clefable and Ampharos had long been knocked out. Now she stood behind Miranda, looking around for a place they could back away to.

"No not yet we can-" but she was cut short as a blast of purple and blue flame shot down from the sky, forcing their opponents back. It looked oddly familiar. To their astonishment, a Salamance landed directly in front of them and two people jumped off.

"So direct, as always," said the young man, looking at the fire. Miranda recognized him as Corey, the guy from the hospital on Element. The other however...

"Nel!"

Miranda pushed her wheelchair forwards impulsively. What what Nel doing here? She turned to look at the girl sitting in the wheelchair.

"Hey Miranda, nice wheelchair." Nel bit the inside of her lip in frustration. Every time she tried saying something to this girl it always ended up coming out wrong. Her thoughts were cut short when Miranda grabbed her hand.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she said with a smile. "I was afraid you actually went to go fight the Hunter Corps." Nel looked into Miranda's eyes only for a second before looking away. The girl was fighting a battle in a wheelchair and she _still_ thought about such things.

"Those guys are your enemies, right?" asked Nel, pointing at the Royal Guardians. They were recovering from the surprise attack and a few Pokemon were putting out the flames with water attacks.

"Yes, they-" but Nel cut her off, pulling her had out of Miranda's.

"That's all I needed to know."

Nel walked toward the RG, untying the metal briefcase from the back of her waist where she had secured it hours ago. The large group of them just watched her carefully, holding back their attack, unsure of what would happen as the lone person approached them. Even alone, Nel had an intimidating presence. Placing the briefcase on the ground Nel knelt and opened it. Corey could see that it held a number of variously colored Pokeballs. Choosing a gray one with blue colored bumps on it, Nel snapped the case back shut and tossed it behind her. Already expecting it, Corey caught it easily.

"You know," said Nel calmly. The sound of her voice made everyone realize just how quiet it had gotten. "The first time I tried to get this guy I was stopped by Ash and his friends, not to mention that meddling Brandon." She tossed the pokeball lightly up with her hand, all eyes drawn to it. "It was for a client, but he canceled so I left. Still, the encounter stuck with me. The first time something like that had ever happened. So I went back; covertly of course. Woke him up, captured him. I even put a fake crystal there to fool the people who maintained the ruins. Though I really couldn't do anything about the pillars," she added with a shrug. "Of course, he's probably still mad at me but I think we can come to an understanding for now." She tossed the pokeball out in front of her.

A massive Pokemon materialized in front of her, easily more than twice her size. The ground shook slightly as it took the Pokemon's full weight. It was white with black lines running in patterns across its body, as well as large yellow colored bands on its shoulders and wrists. A fuzzy green moss covered its feet and the tops of its shoulders. The huge Pokemon took a step back, turning slightly, the dark dots on its face flashing a deep red as it looked down at Nel. She smiled.

"Good evening, Regigigas."

XxxxX

8:30pm

Cynthia walked through the the castle with Cain silently. She could easily hear the sounds of battle coming from all around her but oddly enough everywhere they walked was peaceful.

"This way, Cynthia," said Cain, turning down a side passage that led to a staircase. "Stay close to me."

"Right," she said, quickening her pace slightly. "Where are we going?" she asked as they made their way down the stairs.

"Well like I was saying before, we need to find the Queen and force her to surrender," he replied, pausing at the next level and looking around before continuing down the stairs. "If we can get her to do that then this conflict will end right there. Though I can't be sure exactly where she is I assume she'd be closer to the throne room. That's where we're heading now." He looked back at Cynthia. "If she isn't there then we can use the throne room as a foothold."

"I just hope we can end the fighting," said Cynthia.

"I'll be counting on you, Princess," chuckled Cain.

"Oh stop that." They made it to the bottom of the staircase and worked their way further into the castle. The sounds of battling were much louder here. Two men burst through a nearby door, startling Cynthia who reached for a pokeball at once. Cain however put out a hand to stop her.

"Master Cain," said one of them in relief. Noticing who was with Cain he bowed immediately. His companion did as well. "Princess, I'm glad to see you are well."

"Thank you," said Cynthia, slightly taken aback. Cain stepped forward.

"It seems like we don't have time to talk," he said, grabbing a pokeball. A squad of Guardians was approaching them rapidly from the other end of the hall. "We're trying to get to the throne room, do you two know any quick ways to get there?"

"Actually we just came from near there," said the second man, also pulling out a pokeball. Don't worry about them, Master Cain, go through the doors here and keep going down the hall. You'll find the throne room."

"I'd be a pretty bad leader if I sacrificed my subordinates like this," said Cain. "I'll help you fend them off. Cynthia, you go ahead, I'll be there in a moment."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I can battle too."

"Just defend yourself if you have to," he said shaking his head. "You're more than capable of making it the rest of the way. Go now." The two men charged forward to meet the Guardian squad, Cain walking calmly behind them. Cynthia took one last look at them before going through the door, closing it behind her. The hall she was now in was empty, but she still moved quickly down it, feeling nervous. How would she know when she was in the-

"Oh." Cynthia had just entered a grand room from the side. It had a super high ceiling and was carpeted down the center. To her right was a large wide staircase at the top of which sat a throne. She felt drawn to it. "They really want me to sit in this?" she mused, running her hand along the back of the seat.

"Who are you?"

Cynthia jumped and looked up. In the back corner of the room was someone she hadn't seen earlier. A middle aged woman wearing a dress much like her own only it was pure white. Her large wavy blond hair framed a pretty face. There was only one person this woman could be.

"You're the Queen?" asked Cynthia after a moment. Ilene moved forward, taking Cynthia in fully.

"You must be Cynthia," she said with a smile. "My name is Ilene. I'll admit you do look like royalty." Cynthia smoothed her dress lightly at the compliment but stopped herself quickly as if she had been tricked into doing it. Ilene just chuckled. "I was actually hoping I could meet with you," she continued. Upon reaching the throne, Cynthia took a few steps back, stopping at the top step. "You don't have to be afraid, I'm not going to attack you," said Ilene, and she sat in the throne making herself comfortable as if she did this sort of a thing all the time.

_'She probably _does_ do this kind of thing all the time,'_ thought Cynthia. "I've been wanting to meet you as well," she said aloud. "I was wondering what the leader if the Guardians would be like."

"It's too bad that we could only meet under such circumstances," said Ilene. "But that is now in the past. May I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure," said Cynthia, "if I may do the same."

"Of course." Ilene looked around the room but it was empty but for them. "What do you hope to gain by becoming Queen?"

"What do I hope to gain?" Cynthia repeated.

"Are you attracted by the power of the position?" asked Ilene. "I won't deny that the Guardians have an incredible amount of presence throughout the world. Does controlling that draw you?"

"No, not at all," said Cynthia quickly. Did this woman really thing she was power hungry? "I'm just trying to help fulfill the hopes of a group of people."

"That's admirable of you," said Ilene with a smile. "What's your relationship with Cain Bernhardt?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" said Cynthia quickly. She could feel heat rising in her face and inwardly cursed herself.

"According to Riley you think very highly of him," Ilene pressed. Though these questions seemed improper considering the situation they were actually getting her answers to much of what she didn't know about the Royal Guardians. In particular, anything about Cain. His motives were too suspect for one just trying to usurp a throne.

"Well of course I do. No one has ever been there for me like Cain has," said Cynthia. Ilene just hid her thoughts behind the mask of a smile.

"Do you like being Queen?" asked Cynthia, wanting to change the subject. The pleasant demeanor of Queen Ilene in the middle of this situation was completely throwing her off.

"It can be troublesome at times but I've come to love my position," said Ilene. "The people of the castle and this town, not to mention the Guardians have all had a hand in raising me and I'm happy to provide for them."

"So then why allow such a conflict to begin?" came a voice to the side of the room. Cain had finally arrived. He looked exactly the same as when Cynthia had left him a little while ago. Ilene however ignored him.

"Cynthia, please forgive me for saying this, but allow me to tell you why I am better suited to being Queen, despite all of our motivations and reasons. I lead. _You are led._" Cynthia bristled at the tone of the Queen's voice. She turned to face Cain who now stood beside Cynthia. "And what is your motivation behind this?"

"But of course, I work to re-seat the proper line of the monarchy," said Cain smoothly. Ilene just laughed.

"I had wondered if that was your goal, but after meeting Cynthia here I know that couldn't possibly be the case." Ilene leaned forward in her seat. "What are you truly up to Cain Bernhardt?" Cain grimaced. He turned to Cynthia, quickly raising a hand to her face. The air rippled around it. Cynthia collapsed immediately into Cain's arms. He gently laid her down at the top of the stairs. Ilene stood up in shock.

"What did you do to her?" she shot.

"Nothing permanent," he said straightening up once more. "It's just, this conversation really isn't something she should be hearing. There are those of us who exist to carry out the less pleasant sides of things. Cynthia is quite the innocent woman. I wouldn't want to taint that."

"So you _are_ deceiving the girl?" asked Ilene sadly. "Have you no heart? Do you have any idea what she thinks of you?"

"How could I not?" said Cain with a shrug. "Cynthia's love for me is something that has been carefully cultivated over more years than you can imagine."

"That girl isn't some tool for you to use, nor is she a trophy for you to display," said Ilene coldly.

"Did I say that she was such?" he snapped. "You speak so haughtily for someone so defenseless," said Cain with a sneer, his hand moving to her throat. Ilene winced, but the pressure was light. "I do not think of Cynthia as a tool nor a trophy, but there is no doubt that she is mine. Now," he said, increasing the pressure on her throat, "surrender."

"I won't allow someone like you to control the Guar-" Cain squeezed harder, preventing Ilene from getting anything else out. Her hands went to his arm but he was far stronger than she was.

"Allow me to add some color to your outfit," said Cain, pulling a switchblade out of his pocket.

_**CRASH!**_

A large Pokemon burst through the high stained glass window at the bottom of the room. The Garchomp rocketed to the ground, slamming down hard enough to crack the floor. A man jumped down, looking up at the figures in front of the throne.

"_Ilene!_"

Cain turned his head to look at the newcomer. What was Riley Gen doing here? Did Nier fail? But he said he took care of them... Cain clenched his teeth. Nier! What was he playing at?

"Riley Gen, nice of you to join us finally though I am sorry to say you're just a tad bit late." He turned fully, tossing something down the stairs. "Here, you can have your queen back." Riley watched horrified as Ilene crashed down the stairs, rolling to a stop a dozen feet in front of him.

"Ilene!" he shouted again, running to her side. There upon the pure white dress a crimson flower was blooming at her middle. His hands instantly pressed up against the center of the wound. "Cain you bastard! I'LL KILL YOU! GARCHOMP!" Infused by Riley's rage Leon's Garchomp raised its head and shot a massive red and yellow ball at Cain. He just grinned, a hand moving to his back. The explosion from the attack completely obscured everyone's view, though when the smoke cleared Garchomp, Riley, and Ilene were all gone.

"Must have run away," said Cain, rubbing his neck. "Nice block, Marrok." His Lucario nodded stiffly, standing on the stairs with his arms crossed. "Of course, at this stage I doubt anyone can harm us." He looked down at Cynthia, who was still unconscious though unharmed from the blast. "Time to put you where you belong."

XxxxX

Riley quickly and tightly bound Ilene's wound with the bottom of her dress. The bleeding was not stopping but at least he had slowed it down. Garchomp stood over them, making sure that they weren't caught off guard. While the throne room seemed to be ignored by much of the battle, it was still going on everywhere else.

"Hang in there, Ilene, I'll get you to help soon," said Riley, gritting his teeth in anger. Cain would pay for what he did. Ilene coughed and winced.

"Ri-ley?" she said weakly.

"I'm here Ilene! I made it back!"

"Thank god," she said, her lips turning up at the ends slightly.

"Don't talk I need to get you to a doctor," said Riley quickly, gently lifting her.

"Take me... to the war room..." she forced out, eyes shut tight in pain. "Medic...station..." she passed out against his chest.

"Got it," said Riley, moving as fast as he could. "Let's go Garchomp!"


	22. Descent Into Hell

8:45pm

War Room

Gabriel Meres took off his headset, rubbing his ears. The reinforcements from the Sinnoh region had finally arrived, and with that there was no doubt in his mind that they would win this fight. They didn't even have their force from Hoenn yet, and though they wouldn't arrive until early morning it wouldn't make any difference for the Royal Guardians. They were finished.

"It just doesn't make any sense," he said to no one in particular.

"What doesn't?" asked Ember, leaning against the desk he was sitting at. The War room had gone from command center to the last line of defense in the past couple of hours. With the addition of the Element Guardians they were able to easily hold the section of the castle with the war room. Currently it was more used for medical treatment than commanding. After the Queen and General Hale had retreated from the main entrance of the castle, they had done their best to keep solid control of at least part of the castle. Hale was currently being looked after by the medics while Queen Ilene had taken a squad to go search for injured Guardians a while ago. She still had yet to return.

"This whole operation stinks," said Gabriel, looking over at her. "Cain isn't an idiot. Quite the opposite, even when we were kids he was brilliant. I never knew a single person to outsmart him. But now he launches an attack on a group that hugely outnumbers him, has more resources than him, _and_," he added feeling even more frustrated, "he's effectively boxed himself in." Gabriel shook his head. "There must be more to it than this."

"You think he's got something hidden?" asked Ember, trying to think what it could be. "Hey what's going on at the door?" Gabriel looked around to see a bunch of people at the front in a huge group making a loud commotion.

"Your Majesty!"

"Oh my god!"

"Get the hell out of my way!" bellowed a man. Riley Gen stormed into the room holding an unconscious woman in a bloodstained white dress. Ember and Gabriel ran over.

"Queen Ilene! What happened?" said Gabriel quickly.

"That bastard Cain stabbed her," said Riley raggedly. He was panting heavily. Clearly he had been running. "I need a doctor over here right now!" As he placed Ilene gently on a table two doctors rushed over. They checked her quickly. "Well? Can you treat her?"

"Its a stab wound to her stomach but it wasn't the worst it could have been," said one doctor. "God and she's pregnant too... I just don't know. We can treat her but not here, we need to take her to the medical ward right away. It's in this wing as well."

"Take Element Squad 2 with you," said Gabriel, signaling to them across the room. "Ember, you go as well. Keep her safe."

"I will, don't worry," she said, putting a hand on Riley's arm and squeezing it before following the others out.

"Now Riley," said Gabriel. "Tell me, what happened? How are you even here?" They moved to one side of the room where Riley slumped against the wall. He was completely worn out. Someone apparently noticed this and handed him a plate of food and a cup of water. He downed it all in seconds.

"Wah, thanks," he said appreciatively. "I wish I could have been here earlier," he said to Gabriel. "We got wind that something was up earlier today so Ash and I split up. Ash went to Cain's mansion and I flew back here on a Garchomp."

"You flew here on a Garchomp?" repeated Gabriel. "From _Sinnoh_?"

"Hell of a ride, I don't suggest it," said Riley. "Those Pokemon are _fast_. Anyway I must have arrived seconds too late. Just as I located Ilene's aura and burst into the throne room Cain had already gotten her. He threw her aside like she was trash." The anger in his voice was palpable. "Speaking of the Queen," he grabbed Gabriel's shirt and dragged him closer. "Why the _hell_ was she alone in the throne room!"

"I wouldn't know," said Gabriel, pulling Riley's hand off of his shirt. His anger was not unexpected. "She's been running around with large Guardian groups in the castle to support them, it's been a big help to say the least. I wasn't aware that she had broken off by herself. She must have done it purposely, the way everyone watches out for her." Riley just looked at the ceiling with a ragged sigh.

"Of course, that's so like her."

"Anyway," said Gabriel, "Cain is in the throne room?"

"Yes, though he might have left," said Riley, but Gabriel shook his head.

"Unlikely. He's been aiming for the throne this whole time. I doubt that he'll just leave it once he has it." He stood and held out his hand. "Come on Riley Gen, it's time we finished this." Riley took the outstretched hand and stood as well.

"Right."

XxxxX

Cynthia slowly opened her eyes. Everything around her was fuzzy, including the person who was standing with his back to her. She groaned slightly, as if she were waking up from a deep sleep. What had happened? The man turned around and moved close to her at once.

"Cynthia, you're awake," he said. It was Cain. "Are you alright?"

"What...happened? She asked rubbing her head. Things were slowly becoming sharper. "I was talking to the Queen and then..."

"You collapsed suddenly," said Cain, putting a hand against her forehead. "You need to tell me if you are tired. I don't want you to keep falling all over the place."

"I thought I saw- but never mind," said Cynthia, shaking her head. She looked around suddenly aware that she was sitting on the throne. "What happened to the Queen?"

"She had to leave quickly," said Cain, waving his hand to the front doors. "But a champion of hers is sure to return to battle."

"She won't surrender," said Cynthia. "I'm sorry I had the chance to try and make her stop the fighting but-"

"Don't let it bother you," said Cain. "We knew it was a long shot. At least this way our victory will be more convincing."

"The only thing convincing about you is that farce you hide behind," came a voice from the front of the room. Cain turned to greet the newcomers.

"Riley Gen, I see you've returned." He looked at Riley's companion. "And with an old friend indeed." Riley opened his mouth to shout something but Gabriel held up his hand.

"Cain," said Gabriel curtly.

"Gabriel Ketchum, my oldest friend. Ah wait, it's Meres now isn't it?" he corrected. "Though thinking on it, you're the second Ketchum I've met in the past few days." Cynthia looked down at the man. Though they didn't look much alike, there was still a likeness there...

"Are you Ash Ketchum's father?" asked Cynthia suddenly. Cain looked back at her and took a step to the side to give her a better view. Gabriel looked back up at her, his face unreadable.

"I see my son gets around," he said finally. "I'm sorry girl, but I'll have you move from that seat." Cain instantly put a hand in between them.

"That won't be necessary, Cynthia," he said with a smile. "Please allow me to take care of this for you." He began to walk slowly down the stairs, stopping about half way. "While we wait for the final actors to take the stage, I'll entertain you." He threw out a pokeball.

"Slaaaaking!"

"I don't know where your confidence comes from Cain," said Gabriel, "but I'll find out soon enough. Go Machamp!"

"Scizor, let's go," shouted Riley, calling out his own Pokemon. The three Pokemon stood there, unmoving.

"Machamp, Karate Chop!" Machamp darted forward, its top two arms raised high, hands glowing white.

"Block it, Slaking." Slaking easily caught Machamp's arms at the wrists, but the Pokemon grinned. His bottom two arms chopped in from the sides landing two hits. Slaking doubled over from the force of the hit.

"Seismic Toss!" shouted Gabriel. Grabbing Slaking by the arms, Machamp lifted him with a heave and threw him back at Cain. Slaking crashed into the steps and rolled off to the side.

"Now Scizor! Take him down!" shouted Riley, pointing at Cain.

"Attacking the trainer? How villain-like," said Cain, as the steel Pokemon rushed at him. A flash of blue and black came out of the back of the room colliding with Scizor a few feet in front of Cain, sending the Pokemon careening into the opposite wall. Cain's Lucario spun its bone cane a few times before dissipating it.

"Scizor!" shouted Riley, running over to his Pokemon, but he was unconscious. "What a ridiculous Pokemon. In just one hit..."

"Stay focused, Riley," said Gabriel.

"Yes, Riley," said Cain, moving over to his fallen Slaking. "Surely this can't be all you have. How long are you just going to lay there?" he added to his lazy Pokemon. Slaking sat up, looking guilty. Riley gritted his teeth. Everything about this man pissed him off.

"Rampardos, Lucario, let's go," he said, tossing out his other two Pokemon. Gabriel copied him, throwing out his own Lucario. Machamp raised its fists, ready.

"So you've decided to get serious?" asked Cain. He took off his suit jacket, loosening his tie and tossing it aside. "Then I will too."

XxxxX

Ember stood outside the room where the Queen was being operated on. The doctors were working quickly to stop her internal bleeding which was the true danger of the wound. She had been standing guard inside the room but after about ten seconds of looking at that they were doing, Ember beat a hasty retreat. Closing her eyes she sent a long range pulse of aura in all directions to get an update on the situation. Close by she felt the severely weakened aura of the Queen. Guardians and non guardians were still scattered throughout the castle and town. There were some strong aura signals though most were far weaker than they had been earlier. Clearly the battle was winding down.

Suddenly Ember was on the floor. When did she fall down? Looking around the empty hall, she pushed herself into a sitting position in confusion. A spike of what could only be described as the darkest aura she had ever felt flared through her head at that moment. It was intense enough that it pushed the smaller aura signatures near it that were coming from her father and Riley almost out of her perception. Ember shuddered, she felt tainted. What was going on? Something appeared in the back of her head causing her to turn around rapidly. Another aura had appeared on her radar. It was approaching the castle at extremely high speed. But she knew this particular aura.

"Ash?"

XxxxX

"Im-impossible."

"What- what are you?"

Gabriel was on one knee, blood running down the side of his head. Riley was still on his feet but barely so. Their Pokemon lay defeated around them, covered in rubble and dust. Cain stood towards the top of the staircase, unbuttoning the top of his shirt unconcernedly. His Lucario just stood there, untouched.

"Dear me, I seem to be sweating a little," he said, fanning himself slightly. "You did pretty well for what you are though. Or should I say, what you aren't. You took out Slaking after all."

"Cain...what...?" but Cynthia could get nothing else out. What she had just witnessed had left her speechless. Cain turned to look back at her.

"Well, what do you think?" Cynthia gasped. From where she sat she could clearly see his eyes had changed colors to a piercing blue. That's when she noticed something the same color on his chest, slightly visible in the unbuttoned part of his shirt. "Cain, on your chest-"

"Don't worry Cynthia, I'll explain everything soon enough," he said, turning to the beaten men before him. "I think it's time we ended their suffering. Flash Cannon!"

"Dammit!" Riley threw up his arms.

Cynthia covered her eyes, the blast was too bright. Cain's soft laugh was suddenly cut short.

"So you still had a Pokemon of this strength?" he asked, somewhat annoyed. Riley opened his eyes, not sure what Cain was talking about. Also, didn't he get hit? His vision was filled by the wide back of the Pokemon he had completely forgotten. Garchomp. He actually managed to block an attack from that ridiculous Lucario? Then maybe they still had a chance.

"Riley, that Pokemon," Gabriel said, staggering to his feet.

"He's borrowed," said Riley shortly. "You with me Garchomp?" Garchomp just faced Cain and roared fiercely. The very room seemed to shake.

"It seems like they're putting up more of a resistance than I initially thought they would," said Cain. "My apologies Cynthia, this will be over momentarily. Cynthia?" he said, turning to look at her. Cynthia was on her feet in utter shock. Nothing was real to her but the Garchomp that stood before her. That roar, the vertical scar across it's right eye. There was no mistaking it.

"Where..." she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Where did you get that Garchomp!"

Riley bit the inside of his lip. Of course she would recognize her father's Pokemon. This was starting to get complicated. But he might be able to use this to his advantage.

"Cynthia, what's wrong?" asked Cain, genuinely confused.

"That Garchomp, there's no doubt about it," she said, her voice filled with so many different emotions it was difficult to understand her. "That's my father's Garchomp!" Cain's expression instantly went cold. He turned to Riley.

"I'll have you answer the question now," he said darkly, stepping forward.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" said Riley, speaking a lot more aggressively than he intended. "I'm sure you never thought you'd see one of _his_ Pokemon again, did you Cain?"

"What are you talking about," said Cain sharply. Cynthia let out a burst of frustration.

"Don't play around! Tell me where you got him!" she shouted.

"I-" but a hand on his shoulder stopped Riley mid sentence. Someone had entered the room behind him through the broken door.

"Don't worry, we've got this," said the newcomer. Riley could hardly believe his eyes.

"Leon, how-"

"Later," said Leon, stepping forward next to his Garchomp.

"But that would mean..." Riley said, looking around. Sure enough, Ash was there too. He stood there, eye's locked with his father.

"What are you looking at, boy?" said Gabriel flatly. Ash just shook his head.

"You could at least pretend to be happy to see me," he said. "Whatever, just take a seat somewhere before you collapse. I'll take it from here."

"Reckless kid, you don't even know what you're getting yourself into," said Gabriel. Ash closed his eyes and sighed.

"With all due respect," he said, his expression softening somewhat, "shut up, Dad." Gabriel just blinked at him.

"Che- whatever. Just don't die," Gabriel said. "Your sister would be heartbroken."

Ash moved forward to join Leon. Cain and Cynthia were standing at the top of the stairs in front of the throne. Cynthia hadn't said anything since her outburst but he knew that wouldn't last for long. She was staring at Leon, unblinking; one hand gripping her dress and the other holding Cain's arm. Ash gritted his teeth at the sight.

"And so the son finally makes his appearance," said Cain, covering Cynthia's hand with one of his own. "I knew when Mr. Gen showed up I'd likely be seeing you as well, though I'll admit you have better timing than he did. But who's your friend?" Ash couldn't help grin at the irony that was playing out before him.

"What are you talking about? Don't you recognize your best friend?" he said. "You know who this is don't you Cynthia?"

"That's impossible!" she shouted. Light glinted on tears as they fell from her eyes. "You can't be real!" Cain was rapidly looking from Cynthia to the man standing by the Garchomp. At once his eyes went wide.

"Leon?" he said, shocked.

"Hello, Cain," he said.

"But...you died," said Cain, still in disbelief. "In the cave in. There were no survivors."

"Are you shocked that your plans didn't work perfectly like you wanted?" Ash shot at him. Cynthia looked at him quickly.

"What are you talking about?" said Cynthia.

"Yes what _are_ you talking about?" repeated Cain.

"Don't play dumb Cain, you were the one who organized that cave in to begin with," said Ash. Cynthia immediately stepped back from Cain looking at him in alarm.

"Ridiculous!" he shouted. "Cynthia you don't honestly believe this garbage!"

"I- I don't know what to think..." she stammered, her head in her hands. "Dad's been dead for years he can't just be here. I don't know, I just don't know..." Cain turned to Ash, rage plain in his face.

"How dare you suggest that I tried to kill two of my closest friends!" he said, seething.

"Pretty convincing," said Ash, "but you don't need to pretend to care so much. We know everything. Including your connection to Korinek. Cynthia you don't understand, Cain is working with the Hunters!"

"Shit-" muttered Cain. How did this brat learn so much. Cynthia simply backed away from all of them, her head still in her hands. Cain clenched his fist. She was still confused and emotionally lost. He still had a chance to pull this together.

"Well, there's no point hiding it any longer if they know that," came a voice from the back of the room. Everyone looked around. Vince Korinek walked out of the shadows into the light of the room. His left hand was in his pocket while his right held a small sphere shaped object. Cain just let out a puff of air.

"You're late!" he snapped.

"I'm impressed though Ash, you must have gone through a lot to figure it out," said Korinek, moving level with Cain. "How's dear Miss Eon, by the way?" Ash twitched in anger. He was inches away from running up those steps and squeezing the life out of the arrogant bastard with his bare hands.

"Your plans end here, Korinek. I'm taking you and Cain down. Right here, right now," said Ash.

"Well, you're right about one thing, Ash," said Korinek. He tossed the sphere at Ash who caught it in surprise. "My plans _do_ end here. Right there, in fact," he said, pointing at the device in Ash's hands.

"You can't mean-"

"That's right, I did it," said Korinek, pulling his hand out of his pocket. Covering the whole of his palm was a marking that looked like a bear paw. "It's quite incredible. The success rate for evolution is 100%. There's no preventing it. Of course I doubt that everyone's body will be able to handle the change, but whoever said life was perfect. Still, the survival rate should be at least 99.99% if not higher."

"Don't tell me you're targeting the entire world?" said Leon in shock. Korinek looked down at him.

"Of course," he replied. "When one aims to evolve the human race, that surely includes _all_ the humans, don't you think?"

"So this was the secret," said Gabriel, staggering forward. "I knew there had to be more to this futile attack. You've always been smarter than that, Cain."

"It's true, you can't fool your oldest friends," he said with a shrug. "But you should all be happy that you'll be able to be a part of an age that has been lost to this world for centuries. Even better than that, as Aura Guardians you'll be able to experience the true meaning of the human-pokemon connection."

"What does aura have to do with anything?" said Ash.

"Isn't it obvious? The connection is governed by aura!" Cain's eyes flashed as his aura spiked again. Dark blue lines crept up from under his shirt, weaving themselves up his neck and stopping under his chin. "You couldn't possibly begin to comprehend the understanding I have of this power."

"He has a marking as well?" said Riley in shock.

"No wonder his Lucario has such strength," said Gabriel. "We couldn't even damage it."

"You realize what you're doing, don't you?" said Leon suddenly, the fierceness in his voice grabbing all attention. "There are _billions_ of people in the world. You're talking about infecting everyone with something that doesn't have a 100% survivability rate. Point zero-one percent may seem like a very small number, but on a world scale you're still talking about _hundreds_ of _thousands_ of deaths! It's mass murder!" The numbers shook Ash to his core. He never even realized how bad the situation was. Cynthia fell to her knees, just staring at Cain and Korinek. Cain closed his eyes for a moment. For the first time he looked genuinely sorrowful.

"I'm sorry, Cynthia. I honestly never wanted even this kind of risk, but all good comes with a cost. You'll come to understand my reasons eventually." He turned to Korinek. "Do it."

"No don't!" shouted Ash and Leon, running forward. Korinek turned on his mic.

"This is Korinek, begin the operation. Good luck to you all." The device in Ash's hand flashed twice, then clicked.

XxxxX

_Fifteen minutes earlier._

"Regi-"

"_Regigigas?!_" shouted Corey. "Nel that was _you_!?" Nel made no indication that she heard him, instead just staring up at the colossal Pokemon.

"Corey what are you talking about, what _is_ that Pokemon?" asked Miranda looking at Regigigas in awe.

"I'm from a village really close to where that thing was sealed so I know all about it's lore," said Corey, still in disbelief at what he was seeing. "Regigigas is a legendary Pokemon, the one ruling over the Legendary Golems. It's _supposed_ to be sealed in the Snowpoint Temple!" he shouted at Nel. She just grinned broadly. "I can't take this woman," he said, sinking into a squat.

"Well, since our enemies are preoccupied, we should back away and try to recover our Pokemon a bit while we have the chance," said Grannis, recalling his Primape and retreating next to a building. "Plus, who knows what's going to happen at this point." They all watched as Nel and Regigigas continued to stare at each other. The Royal Guardians were finally getting over the appearance of a legendary Pokemon and deciding what to do. Attack or retreat?

"Huge Pokemon or not, we've got centuries of hopes and ambitions riding on our shoulders!" shouted one. "Plus we outnumber them twenty to one! We have to press on! Dewgong, Aurora Beam!" As Nel was about to dodge out of the way of the beam a large object moved in front of her, blocking the attack.

"Hmm?" she said, looking up at her savior. "Did sitting in one of my pokeballs for five years make you start to like me?" The hand that had just protected her closed around her waist lifting her before Regigigas's face. His grip was not loose. "I guess not," Nel amended, wincing at the pressure on her body. Would he actually crush her? Out of the corner of her eye she could see the group of people slowly forming a half circle around Regigigas. They were obviously setting up for a coordinated attack.

"Listen, Regigigas," began Nel. "You see that girl back there?" She pointed to Miranda. Regigigas turned slightly, looking where she was pointing. "The girl in the chair. Her name is Miranda. She's- I... want to keep her safe," she said, speaking softer now. The irony of her words was bitter in her mouth. "Will you help me?"

"Attack!" shouted one of the Guardians. Over twenty different attacks flew at Nel and Regigigas from all directions.

"Nel!" shouted Miranda, trying to move forward, but Aria held her back.

"It's too dangerous, we could barely hold our own before even with your abilities," she said, shaking her head. Nel and Regigigas were completely obscured by the explosion from so many attacks hitting a single place.

"Yeah but," Miranda began. She was semi panicking. There was no way Nel hadn't been hurt! Corey placed a hand on Miranda's shoulder.

"You seem to be close to Nel so let me say this." He took a deep breath. "I've only known Nel for a short time but if there's one thing I've learned about her," he looked over and pointed, "it's that she is absolutely and undeniably ridiculous. Everything about her defies logic and nothing will ever take her down. Seriously she's scary," he added with a shudder. Sure enough, Nel stood on the ground next to a completely unharmed Regigigas. "Plus are they all _stupid?_ It's a Regigigas for crying out loud."

"Show them the power of a legendary Pokemon!" shouted Nel. Regigigas pointed both hands out wide, shotting a Hyperbeam from each. He swept his arms across his body, strafing the semicircle of RG twice. One beam passed over the vehicles causing them all to explode in a fireball. Many of the Royal Guardians retreated hastily though some of the braver ones moved closer. Upon seeing that Regigigas was raising his arms, Nel jumped back behind him. Regigigas slammed the ground in front of him with two glowing white arms, creating a crater and causing the ground to quake. The ground in front of them was torn up like it had just been bombed. The remaining Guardians scattered, not willing to take any more chances.

"Well that went quicker that I expected, thanks Regigigas," said Nel. The colossal Pokemon glared down at her, eyes flashing again. Nel sighed. "Right, you're not my friend, I got it." She recalled the legendary Pokemon to its pokeball. "Corey, get over here with my case!" she called impatiently. Determined to show Nel that she couldn't tell him what to do, though not brave enough to tell her to take a hike, Corey walked over to her at the same speed as everyone else, holding out the case when he got there. She grabbed it and clicked it open, replacing the pokeball in its slot. Now that Corey was closer to the case, he could see that there were three other pokeballs in it. Nel deftly shut and locked the case before retying it to her back.

"Isn't that uncomfortable?" asked Miranda, pointing at the case. Nel glanced at it.

"I like keeping my hands free," she said simply. "Are you alright? You weren't injured or anything before I showed up were you?" Miranda shook her head.

"No, everyone took good care of me," she said brightly.

"So what should we do now?" asked Aria, looking around. The street was deserted in their immediate area. Certainly there was no one near where Nel had just fought.

"We should really head closer to the castle," said Grannis. "That's where the real battle is. I know there are still plenty of RG running around in the town but they're not a threat like the ones in the castle. Plus," he added, "I'd like to check on General Hale and the rest of command. I haven't been hearing much from them recently."

"Alright, let's go then," said Corey, taking the lead. They walked for a minute when Miranda's ears picked up a sound like a faint cannon. She looked up to see a small streak of light falling to the center of the town.

"Did you see that?" she said suddenly, startling everyone.

"See what?" asked Aria.

"Something just shot out of the sky and landed behind us," said Miranda. "It was pretty tiny too."

"Girl, you must have the best eyesight in the world if you can-" but Corey stopped talking suddenly, his voice caught in his throat. His mouth kept moving but no words came out. The group stopped moving, an unnatural silence falling over the town. Then-

A scream tore through the air, coming from behind them, then another. Then another. Aria gave a shout of pain, doubling over. Grannis went to help her but after two steps he fell to his knees, gritting his teeth in pain as well.

"Guys?" said Miranda frantically as Corey and Nel both went into similar states. Corey had a finger between his teeth to prevent himself from screaming. Nel jerked forward trying to reach Miranda, but her hand only made it to one of the handles of the wheelchair. She toppled to the ground, stiff with pain, pulling the wheelchair on its side. Miranda fell out of the chair onto the ground next to Nel. She quickly scrambled over to the woman, pulling her head into her lap. "Nel! Can you hear me? Hang in there!"

"Mir-an-da!" she forced through gritted teeth. "Are- you- okay?"

"I don't know why, I'm the only one who isn't like this," she said, her voice filled with panic. "What's happening?" Aria suddenly became much louder. It appeared that the pain was getting even more intense.

"I feel- like every cell in my body is on fire!" manged Corey, before putting his finger back in his mouth. He closed his eyes tightly. Miranda was terrified. Everyone was in agony around her, the night air was filled with screams of pain. Holding onto Nel with everything she had, Miranda closed her eyes and tried to block out the sounds, but it was impossible. In a matter of seconds the world had descended into hell.

XxxxX

Ash was on the ground. Pain filled his body like nothing he had ever felt in his life before. All sounds around him weren't registering to his ears. However, despite the unbearable pain, he found that his head was oddly clear. It was like watching a silent movie with the volume turned up to the maximum; trying to hear something, anything, but it was too quiet, and too loud at the same time. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his father and Riley on the floor, clutching themselves in agony. Leon was being held slightly by his Garchomp who clearly had no idea what to do. Apparently Pokemon were unaffected by this.

_'Is this really happening?'_ he thought dimly. His body was hot. His cells screaming for an end. His mind wandered to his friends. Was Brock going through the same thing? Misty? May, Max, Dawn...? Faces continued to flash through his mind. People he knew well and those he didn't. Were they all in this kind of pain right now? Even... his mother?

Ash slowly turned his head to the other side of the room, his eyes finding Cynthia. Her back was to him and he could not see her face. Maybe that was for the better, for he wasn't sure if he could handle seeing her face in so much pain. He wanted to go to her, make it stop somehow. Just as he started to pull himself closer to her someone got to her first. A tall man in a suit with no jacket. Heat boiled through Ash's body, though this was not from pain. It was from anger.

"How's your Princess?" asked Korinek, leaning on the throne. He was completely unaffected by the mutagen, having already evolved. Cain looked back at him.

"Well she's going through precisely what you and I went through to get this, so nothing to really say," he said. "Though I'm quite impressed by her tolerance to pain. She hasn't screamed once. Even the big burly men down there are making sounds," he added, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. Korinek looked around and gave a small laugh.

"Look out Cain, one of those big burly men is out to get you," he said, pointing. Cain righted himself and turned around. Ash was slowly crawling across the floor in his direction. Occasionally he fell over but he never stopped moving.

"I'm quite impressed Ash," said Cain. "Either you have the pain tolerance of a god or you've got a lot of willpower to make your body move when it's like that. I know what you're going through after all." Ash tried to say something but it just came out choked in pain. "Are you worried about Cynthia?" Cain asked, moving back to the throne. "You don't need to fear, as long as you have even the smallest amount of control over your own aura it will automatically prevent you from that immensely small chance of dying. Of course," he continued, looking over at Cynthia, "Cynthia is much more than just a woman with minute control over her aura." Cynthia was now looking at Cain, her body still shaking in pain, eyes locked on him. Ash was now at the bottom step, his body screaming for no more. But Cain's words held him.

"What- are you talking about?" Ash managed to get out sharply. Cain looked down at him, impressed at his resistance.

"Cynthia has the ability to sense the aura in _everything_," said Cain. "She has an ability not seen in Aura Guardians for over hundreds of years!" Ash was so surprised he felt it clearly through all the pain he was experiencing. Was that really true? Cain sat on the throne, leaning back grandly. "With my ultimate knowledge of how the human-pokemon connection works and Cynthia at my side, we will usher in an age the likes of which the world has never seen before!" Ash struggled to his knees.

"I won't let you use Cynthia like that!" he shouted fiercely.

"Do you think I've had to force her to do anything?" shot Cain, annoyed. "She's acted of her own will this whole time."

"Bullshit! You're manipulating her!" spat Ash. "There's no way she'd stay with someone like you!" Cain leaned forwards in his seat, smiling slightly.

"Jealous?"

"This is all well and interesting, but I believe my time is up," said Korinek, looking at his watch. "The few people of mine who have evolved prior to this as well should be collecting my less fortunate subordinates all over town."

"Leaving so soon?" said Cain.

"You know I was never into the world domination angle," said Korinek with a shrug. "I've achieved my goal. Now I just want to sit back and see how the world changes. In any case," he looked down at Ash, "they should be entering Stage 2 about now and I do not want to stick around for it to finish. I'm not exactly popular in present company."

"I won't let you get away with this!" growled Ash. Korinek laughed, walking back into the shadows.

"Don't be a fool Ash, you already have." Cain watched him leave.

"It seems you and Vince go back a ways, don't you," said Cain, mildly interested. "Well no matter, you seem to be managing Stage 1 quite well but Stage 2..."

"Ah!" Cynthia shouted, clutching her chest. Behind him, Ash heard similar noises of surprise. He turned to see Leon with a hand on his shoulder, Riley holding his left arm, and his father a hand at the back of his neck. Ash felt something like a burn on his chest. Impulsively he looked under his shirt. A bright mark that had never been there before was sitting on the center of his chest, and it was shifting. The sight made him feel queasy. Suddenly the marking began growing, drawing itself across his flesh. The burning that came with it was incredible. He fought to stay conscious. Three thuds from behind told him that the others had collapsed.

"I won't let this stop me," said Ash, biting his lip until it bled. The coppery tang of blood in his mouth made him feel more awake.

"Cain..." Cynthia said, speaking for the first time in a while. Her voice was filled with pain, though not all physical. Still clutching her chest with one hand she pushed herself up to somewhat of a sitting position. "What happened to you? This isn't the kind teacher who used to take care of me. Why are you doing this?"

"Time changes people, Cynthia," said Cain, looking at his hands. "Events that leave deep scars that stay with you forever. It's all we can do as humans to try to better our futures and struggle with all our might to live. I'm no different from anyone else in this world."

"Please, stop lying to yourself," said Ash. Cain glared at him but he kept going. "And stop lying to Cynthia. Don't you think you've hurt her enough?" Cain closed his eyes as if praying for patience. He stood up from the throne and walked to the side of the room, looking at a suit of armor that was standing there, untouched by the chaos around it.

"Do you have ambitions, Ash Ketchum?" he asked.

"What?"

"Don't you wish for things? Hunger for them?" Cain pulled a large battle ax out of the gauntlet hands. He hefted it, looking at it carefully. "Haven't you even wanted something so greatly that you would do anything to attain it?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"And what," he continued, moving down the stairs to stand in front of Ash, "would you do if something snatched that thing you wanted from your hands?"

"Are you trying to justify killing me with that ax?" Ash said darkly. He tried to move his legs but was unable to. His body was still wracked with pain and exhaustion.

"You wouldn't..." said Cynthia in disbelief. "Cain, please stop! Korinek must have done something to you to make you like this!"

"I guess after condemning hundreds of thousands of people to death with Korinek this is pretty small scale to you," said Ash. Cain narrowed his eyes. Cynthia dropped back to the floor, unable to hold herself up any longer. She appeared to have finally passed out.

"You frustrate me to no end," he said bitterly. He lifted the ax...

And was suddenly thrown backwards, slamming into the far wall where he stayed, more than ten feet of the ground. The ax fell to the ground where it landed with a dull thud.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here, Gardevoir," said Ash, smiling slightly. Internally however he felt like he had dodged a bullet.

_'What took you so long I thought I was going to die!' _ he shouted at her mentally. Gardevoir landed next to him looking him over with worry.

"_I'm sorry there is something in this area that is preventing me from teleporting,"_ she explained, her psychic voice clearly frustrated. _"I only managed to make it in here through brute force though it took a lot of energy. I cleared the nearby area like you asked me. Every human I've seen is like you are."_

"Insolent Pokemon," said Cain as he struggled unsuccessfully to free himself. "Marrok!" Cain's Lucario darted at Gardevoir blindingly fast, bone cane raised high. He slammed it into the unprepared Pokemon, sending her crashing into a side wall, straight into the adjacent room. The psychic hold on Cain instantly vanished and he dropped to the ground grabbing the tapestry behind himself to stop him from getting hurt. "Urgh, was there really any reason to hold me up so high? Could have broken my legs..."

"Gardevoir!" shouted Ash. Lucario stood in front of him, eyes gleaming. Ash practically could see the auric energy radiating from his body.

"So sorry Ash, but my Lucario is on a completely different level than anything you could ever know," said Cain, sitting in the throne again. "Marrok." Ash was thrown all the way to where Gardevoir had hit the wall. He came to a stop with a crash, every inch of his body numb with pain.

_'Ash!'_ Cynthia tried shouting his name but couldn't get her voice to work. She remained on the ground, darkness threatening to overtake her at any moment.

"Garchomp!" Ash shouted roughly, dragging himself up while holding onto the wall. "Get those three out of this room! Ah-!" Ash choked slightly and fell to his knees again. His chest was still burning. Just what was going on under his shirt? "Gardevoir," he said, "Get out of that hole, we have a battle to fight."

"_My apologies, I was caught off guard," _she said, stepping through the hole back into the room. She brushed dust off of her body._ "He is not to be taken lightly."_

"I know," said Ash reaching for the only other filled pokeball on his belt. Given the condition of the castle, before entering the room with Leon he had sent Pikachu, Sceptile, Zangoose, and Ninetales all to find and protect Queen Ilene. Also since his father was here, Ember was likely here as well. With any luck his Pokemon were watching over her too. "Lucario, let's go."

"Right," he said, moving next to Gardevoir. He looked sidelong at her. "Is he strong?"

"_He hits hard."_

"I see," he said, locking his eyes back on the Lucario in front of him. He could feel the pressure coming off of him. "What is your name?"

"You may call me Marrok," said the Lucario. "If you can survive more than thirty seconds against me then I'll ask for yours."

"Very well," said Lucario. "Though I can't guarantee you'll be able to ask by then. I'll leave support to you?" he added. Gardevoir nodded.

"_Leave it to me."_

Lucario suddenly appeared behind Marrok, bone cane raised high. He slammed down hard but Marrok blocked with his own cane, holding it behind his back with one hand. His other hand pointed under his arm, glowing brightly. Lucario quickly dodged to the side avoiding the blast from the Force Palm. He formed an Aura Sphere and threw it at Marrok but he just knocked it aside with a hand. It blasted a crater in the staircase. Marrok darted forward, slipping under Lucario's guard and unleashing a fierce Close Combat. About to finish the attack, Marrok jumped back rapidly dodging a series of steel spears and axes raining down from the ceiling. They all stuck in the ground due to the force they were thrown. Gardevoir hovered in the air, the human weapons floating around her, each one rotating slightly on the spot.

Marrok ran forwards grabbing one spear out of the ground and throwing it at Gardevoir before launching himself back at Lucario. Lucario dodged the attack, sliding low and knocking Marrok high in the air, at which Gardevoir threw the rest of the weapons at him. Marrok turned in the air and fired a huge Flash Cannon at Gardevoir, vaporizing the weapons. Gardevoir blocked the attack with a Light Screen, though it pushed her back in the air several feet. The ground around her was scorched by the attack. Marrok landed on his feet, standing like nothing had happened.

"That was a good dodge. Your name?" he said to Lucario. Lucario looked over at Ash who shrugged.

"Malice." Marrok took a step back, clearly surprised.

"I see," he said. He formed the bone cane again and leveled it at Lucario. "Then let's begin for real this time. You may both attack me at once, it won't change anything."

"_You frustrate me."_

Two chunks of stone flew at Marrok from opposite sides, crashing into each other where he had been standing moments before. He appeared in front of Gardevoir hand glowing again. Gardevoir's eyes flashed. Marrok's hand suddenly went wide, blasting the air to her side. She took advantage of Marrok being off balance by shoving a Focus Blast directly in his face, blasting him into the far wall. Before he even hit the ground the ceiling above him collapsed on top of him. Gardevoir raised both hands, the pile of rubble getting tighter and tighter, crushing everything inside.

"Marrok!" shouted Cain. Ash felt his aura spike and watched the marking spread even further across his body. The rubble burst apart, Marrok standing in the center of the blast, visibly pulsing with power.

"Don't give him a chance to keep going, you can stop him!" shouted Ash. "I'll stop Cain."

"You'll stop me?" said Cain, picking up one of the spears that had fallen near him. "You can barely stand, and your Pokemon won't ever be able to stop Marrok. Not while I supply him with an endless supply of power."

"That just tells me that your Lucario isn't really that strong to begin with," said Ash, staggering forward. Cain sneered, spinning the spear. Ash pulled out his old retractable staff and extended it, using it to keep himself upright. The three Pokemon darted around the room behind them, attacks causing debris to fly.

"How long do you think you'll last like that?" said Cain. He leveled the spearhead with Ash's chest.

"Try me," said Ash with a grimace.

Cain lunged forward with the spear. Ash managed to push it to the side with his staff and lashed out with one end at Cains head, but he dodged it easily. Ash's movements were sluggish from his condition. Cain repeated the attack but it was a feint, and he spun the spear sideways, catching Ash on his other side. The blade bit deep into his uniform but didn't penetrate it. He silently thanked Ilene for giving him this outfit. Ash winced as he put all of his strength into another counter, his staff colliding with Cain's shoulder, knocking him back. Cain retreated slightly circling him. Ash slowly began backing up the stairs, hoping the added height would give him an edge. Gardevoir suddenly crashed into the steps right next to him, surprising them both.

"Gardevoir are you alright?" said Ash, doing his best to help her stand while keeping an eye on Cain. Cain however was keeping an eye on Gardevoir while glancing back at the Pokemon battle. The two Lucarios were matching each other blow for blow. Cain could hardly believe that Ash's Lucario had this much strength and stamina. They broke apart, Marrok charging a ball of white, Ash's Lucario charging a ball of black and purple. The two beam attacks collided in mid air, causing an explosion of energy.

"_I must get back to help!"_ said Gardevoir, righting herself and flashing forwards, blades of psychic energy flying at Marrok. Cain and Ash both became aware that they were getting distracted and quickly focused on their own battle. Cain backed Ash up the stairs slowly. He could tell that Ash had a good battle sense. That would really be the only explanation for him being able to hold up through everything, not to mention the evolution his body was still going through. Still, there was no way he could win. Cain did a rapid combination of jabs and sweeps with the spear, missing most of the time but scoring a few grazing hits, most drawing blood. He continued to back Ash up the stairs until he reached the top step. Attempting to counter attack, Ash's tripped on a piece of broken ground, causing him to fall backwards several feet, opening the distance between him and Cain. His staff rolled away out of reach, falling down a few steps. Ash struggled to his knees but was unable to stand. His legs could no longer support his weight. Dazedly he looked over at the Pokemon battle. Lucario was on his knees while Gardevoir protected him barely. Both Pokemon looked like they were at their limit. Glancing back he saw that he was only a few meters from Cynthia. He was surprised to see that her eyes were open, staring at the scene unfolding before her.

"Why are you doing this...?" she said weakly, her voice cracking as she fought through the burning on her torso. "Stop fighting... I'm begging you both." She was breathing heavily. Ash looked back at her, her eyes holding so many emotions it was hard to stop looking at them.

"I can't," said Ash.

"Why?" said Cynthia. He just looked back at her with a weak smile.

"You're important to me," he said quietly. Cynthia's eyes were over-bright.

"You're going to die!" she shouted with everything she had. Cain stopped moving on the steps momentarily, looking at Cynthia in surprise. He had thought she was unconscious.

"Sometimes it's worth the risk," said Ash, glancing back at her. Cynthia just closed her eyes, tears flowing freely from them.

"You idiot," she said, her voice muffled by the floor. "Don't talk about dying so easily!"

"Cynthia..."

"Are you quite done talking to yourself?" asked Cain, the tip of the spear resting under Ash's chin. He apparently hadn't heard Cynthia speaking. Ash looked up into his cold eyes.

"Can I ask you one thing?" he said.

"...what?"

"You have your motives but it's obvious that Cynthia is important to you," Ash said, doing his best not to cut his neck on the spear. "Why? Because she was your student?" Cain shook his head.

"Because she's Claire's daughter obviously," he said, looking down at Cynthia's face.

"How can you say that when you were the one who killed her!" spat Ash, the spear at his throat forgotten. Cain swung the spear around striking Ash on the side of the head with the other end of the steel weapon. He gave a shout of pain, collapsing on his side, clutching his head. Cain threw the spear aside and dragged Ash to his feet by the collar.

"How many times will you say those disgusting words!" he seethed. "I never caused that cave in! It was the worst day of my life! Since then I've been keeping Claire and Leon's daughter safe, making sure she was well taken care of. I didn't even know that Leon had survived until today!"

"Yes I'm sure that was a huge shock to you," came a sleek voice from extremely close by. Cain made to turn around but he went stiff, dropping Ash immediately. Ash looked up in confusion, his vision blurry with pain, his head pounding. Cain fell over beside Ash, clutching his side, blood staining his white shirt.

"What the-"

"It really _is_ the most beautiful betrayal, don't you think?" said the newcomer. Nier stood in Cain's place, a bloody knife in his left hand, a smile on his face.

"Nier, what have you done!" said Cain, rage on his face. Nier wiped the knife clean on a white handkerchief and tossed it to Cain.

"Now, now," he said happily, "don't get too excited, it'll make you bleed to death faster. You might want to use that instead of your hands," he added, pointing at the cloth. He took a few steps back and sat on the arm of the throne, crossing his legs and leaning against the high back of the seat.

"Master!" An heavily damaged Marrok was suddenly at his partner's side, helping press the cloth against the stab wound, his hands glowing with aura. Ash could see his Lucario and Gardevoir on the other side of the room, holding each other up, equally as damaged as Marrok, if not more.

"I'm fine, Marrok," said Cain, voice thick with pain. He looked up at the relaxed man standing in front of him. "Explain yourself Nier! After working with me for so long, why have you betrayed me?"

"Now Cain, you seem to be confused about something so, as your humble servant, allow me to clear that up for you. I'm sure you must be curious too, Princess." Ash, Cynthia, and Cain all lay there, unable to take their eyes away from the man in front of them. "You see, all those years ago there was a cave in that killed Leon, Claire, and the rest of their team. I originally sent Claire a message which I'm sure she got that day saying that something dire had happened to her daughter. I knew that Claire would leave immediately and that Leon would stay to continue the dig. It was the pinnacle of both of their careers after all," he said with a shrug. "Unfortunately I was only half right. Claire didn't leave right away and ended up getting caught in the cave in where she was killed, along with everyone _but_ the person who was _supposed_ to be killed." Cain and Cynthia stared at Nier in horror. Ash felt sick. How could someone talk so calmly of taking peoples' lives?

"You- you killed Claire?" said Cain in disbelief. Marrok held his partner down while he struggled to get up.

"Unfortunately," said Nier with a shrug. "When I found out that Leon actually survived I decided to frame you for the whole thing. Worked like a charm," he said with a satisfied smirk. "Can you believe he's actually been working for me in the RG for _years_ because he wanted to protect his daughter from you?" Nier burst out laughing.

"_I'll fucking kill you!_" roared Cain before he was overcome by a fit of painful coughing. Nier shook his head.

"Didn't I tell you not to get excited?"

"Why..." Cynthia dragged herself up slightly, she was so weak. Tears still ran slowly down her face. "Why would you do all this... to my family..." Nier frowned.

"Haven't you figured it out? It never had anything to do with you; everything was about your mother, Princess," he said. "You don't know this, but I used to be the one who was assigned to watching over Claire. This was from when she was very young. She was like my little girl." Nier closed his eyes, reminiscing. "But then I was replaced with Cain, when he was years younger than Claire herself. I got tossed aside for the RG genius, and I was forgotten." He stood up. "Killing Leon was my revenge against her for forgetting me. And I suppose killing her became my revenge against you Cain, though it was bittersweet at the time it happened. I assure you now though I'm feeling much better about everything." Cain said nothing. If looks could kill then Nier would have been dead ten times over.

"You're insane," said Ash. Nier just shrugged and walked around him, kneeling in front of Cynthia. She didn't move, completely frozen by what he had said.

"You know," he said softly in her ear, "I was always watching, while you were in the darkness. Always." Cynthia backed away from him so rapidly that she fall backwards. Nier just laughed. He rubbed something on his finger and held it up for her to look at. "Thanks for the ring by the way, it'll make an excellent keepsake. I hope you'll show me more some day soon." He walked away into the darkness, laughing softly.

"Yes... I can barely wait."


	23. Aftermath

Two Months Later

The "war" ended as quickly as it began. With the spread of the mutagen both sides were incapacitated and unable to continue the battle. Any fighting done by Pokemon quickly subsided as their trainers fell one by one. Though the evolution time of the mutagen took only about twenty minutes, the effects were powerful in stopping the momentum of the battle. Few still had the will to continue, especially with the new addition to their bodies. As people became able to move again, relief efforts were organized to assist anyone that needed it. There was really no telling what the full damage could be.

With the heads of both the Guardians and Royal Guardians effectively unable to lead, the two groups established a temporary ceasefire, through which negotiations ensued. Cynthia, to the surprise of many not to mention herself, boldly took charge of the Royal Guardians, asserting her authority like she hadn't done before. Despite the aggressiveness of the move, the Royal Guardians supported her, and if anything showed their devotion to their side of the royal bloodline it was this. Cynthia had many questions. Questions for her father, questions for Cain, and even... but she put them aside to help lead the group that supported her through the aftermath of the battle.

Of course, it wasn't as if Rota was the only place affected. The entire world was attempting to recover from something so inexplicable that each passing day only brought more questions, not answers. That day was marked with death. Worldwide the death toll climbed in the high hundred thousands, although only around a third of that was directly due to the mutagen. The majority were caused indirectly through accidents, all due to people suddenly becoming unable to act. A large portion of these were vehicle related; cars, trains, and even commercial plane flights. Though some were rescued by Pokemon with the drivers and pilots not all were so lucky. The other smaller portion was concentrated mostly in hospitals where critical patients and others undergoing procedures where almost all failed due to the surgeons and other doctors becoming unable to work.

In the days following the incident the shells of the bio bombs were discovered, and though there was no real way of connecting the appearance of the markings with the appearance of the small spherical objects the very fact that identical objects were being found worldwide brought people to the conclusion that some_one_ was responsible for this. The incident became recognized as the largest and most devastating terrorist attack in known history. However, not all were so traumatized by the attack.

Within a month of the incident people began discovering that their markings, which were even present on newborn babies, were more than just interestingly shaped tattoos. People began discovering their connection to Pokemon. It started becoming known that under specific circumstances that seemed to be connected with emotions, one's eyes would change color, almost seeming to glow, and a trainer's Pokemon would suddenly receive a surge in strength. Reportedly, people were finding that they could understand the Pokemon that they connected with at a level never known before. And so there were some who believed the markings to be blessings. People across the world were doing anything and everything to learn all they could about their new abilities. No matter what part of the world a person belonged to, it was clear that all of humanity had shifted overnight. But this was only the beginning.

XxxxX

Ash walked through the castle interior, his mind buzzing with the events of the past two months. He glanced down at his chest where his marking hid from view. It was incredible that such a thing was causing such upheaval throughout the world. It wasn't until he had heard his mother's voice through the phone that he began to relax a little. At least she had been okay. He found out that all of his friends we alright. Since they had all just returned from their extended stay in Element City, most of them were simply spending time at home when it happened.

"_Dawn, I'm so glad you're alright," he said in relief. She was the third person he tried to call after his mother and Brock._

"_Thanks Ash I'm glad you're alright too, Mom and I were so terrified," said Dawn shakily. "Most people here are alright but I know that there were a lot of accidents in neighboring towns. Still..." she raised her right arm and showed him the inside of her wrist. There were a number of interwoven wavy lines etched into her skin. "I got this. I don't know what it means. Everyone has them, though they're all different. What about you?" Ash nodded, tapping his chest._

"_Yeah it's right here." The edge of Dawn's mouth twitched._

"_Oh? You won't show me?" she said shyly. Ash rolled his eyes._

"_I don't flirt with kids," said Ash, looking off to the side. Dawn pouted._

"_You're no fun at all Ash," she shot. "And I'm not that much younger than you are to begin with." Another person's face suddenly filled the screen, pushing Dawn to the side._

"_Oh, you're talking to Ash. I'm glad you're looking alright," said Johanna. Ash bowed his head slightly to her._

"_Hi, Mrs. Hikari, same to you."_

"_Did Dawn show you that marking she got?" asked Johanna. Ash grinned at how upbeat she was despite what had happened. "I got one too, though mine is- oh but I shouldn't be saying things like that should I."_

"_Moooom!" shouted Dawn, red faced, pushing her mother off the screen. Ash sweatdropped. Dawn returned, slightly out of breath._

"_Sorry about that," she said. "I wanted to ask, is Miranda alright? I haven't seen her since just before I left Element." Ash smile fell. He looked down._

"_About Miranda, she-"_

Ash continued walking past several workers who were doing finishing repairs on this particular hallway. There were groups like this all over the castle as well as the town who had been working to restore the damage caused by the battle, and after two months of diligent work they were really making headway. He stopped at a window that looked over the southern bridge leading into the town. The sunlight shone brightly off of the lake below.

_Miranda..._

XxxxX

That night two months back... it hadn't truly ended with Nier's disappearance. There they lay; he, Cynthia, and Cain. All trying to process what had just happened. Ash dimly registered that the pain on his chest was slowly receding. Either the evolution was nearing its end or he was just loosing sense of pain. Either way, he knew he couldn't just lay there. Cynthia watched him blankly as he struggled into a sitting position. He pulled out Lucario and Gardevoir's pokeballs and recalled them.

"Cynthia," said Ash after a second, looking back at her. She blinked which he took to mean that she heard him. "You haven't used your Pokemon yet right? I need them." Cynthia looked at him silently, her brain still trying to catch up with what had happened.

"You need-?"

"Your Pokemon!" said Ash, much louder than he intended. Cynthia flinched at his tone but pulled out her pokeballs all the same. In a flash, Garchomp, Gallade, Nidoqueen, Gastrodon, Lucario, and Weavile appeared before him. "Sorry Cynthia, we just don't have much time to spare," he apologized. He turned to the Pokemon. "Listen up you all, obviously you can tell some serious things have happened and I need your help with specific things right now." They all nodded. "First I need Gastrodon, and Weavile to stay here and look after the immediate area. Gallade and Lucario I need you to stay with Cynthia. Don't let a single thing happen to her. Finally, Garchomp and Nidoqueen come with me. Though thinking on it I'll definitely need a lift," he added to Garchomp. Ash knew that he wouldn't be able to get too far on his own just then. As Garchomp helped Ash onto her back Cynthia called out to him.

"Wait, Ash, what about Cain?" she said, looking over at him. Cain was in the same position as earlier with his Lucario still applying pressure to the wound. His breathing was shallow and his eyes were closed. Ash looked away.

"What about him?"

"I- I know what he's done, but..." Cynthia looked back to Ash. "I don't want him to die. Please, Ash." Ash looked down at the one who had caused all of their troubles. At the one who had just tried to kill him not minutes ago. But then he looked back at Cynthia and his anger was gone.

"Alright," he said. "Garchomp pick him up but be careful." As she did so, Ash said to Cynthia, "I don't know if he can be saved. No one was spared from the evolution and its side effects. The doctors included. Who knows if there are even people there..." Cynthia just shook her head.

"Just go, I'll be along in a moment," she said.

"Let's go Garchomp, I'll tell you where to turn. Follow us Marrok."

Riding a completely fresh Garchomp, Ash arrived at the hall with the medical rooms in no time at all. As they moved down the hall Ash recognized a girl who was sitting against the wall right next to his destination.

"Ember!" he shouted, sliding off of Garchomp onto unsteady feet. He knelt in front of her and she looked at him wearily.

"Ash?"

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking her over. Fortunately she didn't look very injured. She probably had avoided much of the heavy fighting.

"Ash, the Queen..." she said, leaning back toward the door at her side. "She was in surgery when it happened!" Ash immediately burst into the room, looking around wildly. If the Queen was in surgery when the virus his everyone then he could only assume the worst. Queen Ilene was on a medical table to the right. Two doctors were standing, still working on her, their Pokemon next to them. Another two doctors were on the floor, one struggling to stand, the other still unconscious.

"Is she alright!" Ash shouted, coming over. One of the working doctors shook his head.

"No, we were almost done with the procedure when whatever happened to everyone started," he said roughly. "The internal bleeding was stopped but we all collapsed before we actually closed everything back up. Thank god the Pokemon were here to keep her vitals up, else she would already be in the next life. She wasn't spared from whatever happened either..."

"I hate to do this to you but I have another critical patient for you," said Ash, motioning Garchomp to enter. She broke the door frame on one side to make it easy to enter and placed Cain on a different table. "Do everything you can to keep him alive."

"I can handle the Queen from here," said the lead doctor to the other two. "Give that idiot a kick and start working on him. We can't afford to be held back by anything. We're doctors."

"Right!" Ash walked back into the hall and knelt next to Ember.

"Everything's going to be alright," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"What about Dad?" she asked, attempting to stand. Ash helped her to her feet.

"He's alright, he's near the throne room," said Ash. "Do you know where Sonia is? I thought that she'd likely be near you." Ember shook her head.

"No, she went with the group into the town," explained Ember. "I haven't heard from her or Miranda since we got here."

"Miranda!" shouted Ash in alarm. "What are you talking about, you mean she's _here_?!"

"I'm sorry Ash, she wouldn't take no for an answer," said Ember looking at the floor. "She wanted to help."

"Are you stupid? She's in a freakin wheelchair!" shouted Ash in anger, adrenaline coursing through his body again. He jumped back on Garchomps back. "Nidoqueen, keep Ember and the people in that room safe. Garchomp we need to head into town as fast as you can!" As Ash and Garchomp sped out of sight, Ember slowly sank back to the floor. Guilt weighed her down like bags of sand tied to her back. She prayed that Miranda was alright.

Ash and Garchomp flew low over the bridge into the town. He knew the odds of finding Miranda by sight were slim so he sent out a pulse of aura. With this he would be able to find her instantly. However the scan came up completely blank. People he could sense, but Miranda he could not.

"What the hell, why can't I find her?" Ash said angrily. There were only three reasons that someone's aura would not show up on an aura scan. The first was if the person wasn't there. The second was if the person was advanced enough to be able to hide his aura from the scan. Miranda was unable to do such a thing and she came to Rota with the Guardians to fight. That only left the third possibility.

"She's not!" shouted Ash into the cold air. "I won't accept something like that!" Suddenly he spotted something that made his heart skip. A small group of people next to a wheelchair that was on its side. It was empty. Ash jumped off of Garchomps back and ran over to the group.

"What happened here!" said Ash, causing them to all look over.

"Ash?" said one of the guys. Ash looked more closely at who was speaking, receiving his own shock.

"Corey? What on earth are you doing here?" Ash shook his head. "Never mind that," he said quickly, forestalling Corey, "where's Miranda? That's her wheelchair right?" Corey opened and closed his mouth, not saying anything. Ash looked at him in confusion.

"You're not going to believe me," said Corey finally. "I'm not that I even believe me."

"Just tell me what happened!" Corey closed his eyes.

"_Nel, j-just hang in there," said Miranda, looking down into the older woman's face, her fear still apparent through her voice. Nel just lay there, jerking slightly in pain, her head in Miranda's lap. She and the others had been in this condition for the past ten minutes. Aria had stopped screaming and was just crying while the two men were breathing very heavily, trying to withstand the pain. Screams still filled the air, discordant and fearful._

"_You know-" said Nel softly, though only Miranda could hear her over the sounds around them, "despite the circumstances I think this is... the first time I've ever done this- had my head in someone's lap-"_

"_R-really?" said Miranda, managing a small smile._

"_What- are you grinning at girl-" Nel suddenly gasped, her face contorting with pain. The others began to have similar reactions as well._

"_What's happening?" said Miranda, knowing that nobody had any way of answering her._

"_My- body!" Miranda watched wide eyed as lines rapidly ran themselves over the exposed parts of Nel's upper body, leaving bright streaks before fading. Nel put her arms around her chest, hugging herself in a vain attempt to suppress the new searing sensation._

"_So, it appears that they were unable to stop it after all," came a voice from behind them all. An unknown person walked into the middle of the group, looking around. The figure was clearly female from the full body skin tight outfit, though what it was made of was anyone's guess. The woman's face was completely obscured by a thick scarf and a type of visor, which covered her eyes. Long black hair spilled from her head, flowing in the wind. They all looked at her silently._

"_Who are you? Are you alright?" asked Miranda suddenly, wondering why she wasn't in pain like everyone else was._

"_You'll find out soon," said the woman. "For now..." she put her hands out in front of her, "Resonate with the Traveler." Miranda felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. The air around them all seemed to have changed but she couldn't tell how. The woman moved closer to her._

"_What are you doing?" she said in alarm, trying to move away. She wanted to run, but she couldn't just leave Nel and the others. But the woman ignored her._

"_Celebi, let's go," she said, placing a firm hand on Miranda's shoulder. The world seemed to twist before her eyes. She impulsively grabbed Nel with all her might. The others just blinked, disbelief fighting through the pain they were experiencing. The three women were gone. All that was left was the lone wheelchair, laying silently on its side._

Ash grabbed Corey by his collar and pulled him close.

"You can't be serious. Do you think I'm going to believe something as ridiculous as that?" he snapped.

"I know I can hardly believe it myself," said Corey tiredly. He was still recovering from all the pain from earlier. "But I wasn't the only one who saw it happen, right?" Aria and Grannis both nodded.

"Ash!" Cynthia came jogging over, flanked by her Gallade and Lucario. Ash looked back at Corey and quickly let go of his shirt.

"I'm sorry Corey," he said quietly. Cynthia stopped once she reached the group, leaning on her knees to catch her breath. Even though the pain was pretty much gone she was still exhausted. "You didn't actually run all the way here did you?" Ash asked her. Cynthia shook her head and pointed to Gallade.

"No, I ran into Ember and she told me that you went off looking for Miranda. I had no idea she was here," she said. "Gallade got us here pretty quickly." She looked around and finally noticed Corey. "Corey?"

"Long story," he said.

"Have you found Miranda yet, Ash?" asked Cynthia. She thought she felt something brush her consciousness but couldn't tell what it was. Ash let out a tired breath.

"She really isn't here..." he said slowly. He went over to the wheelchair and righted it. "Come on," he said, turning back to the group. "Let's get back to the castle. There's a lot to be done."

XxxxX

No matter how many times Ash ran Corey's story through his head it always came to the same result. Miranda was gone. If whoever took Miranda actually _did_ have a Celebi then that could only mean one thing. Time travel. For the first time since he met her, he was completely unable to find her. There was absolutely no point in even _trying_ to find a person who didn't technically exist anymore. Who knew where in time she was. He was sad and frustrated all at the same time. After being around her all the time for so many years it was hard to just let go. However, as days turned into weeks he eventually stopped subconsciously looking for her aura. He knew he had to let it go. To his own surprise, he occasionally found himself searching for Nel's aura as well. She was always getting on his nerves but now that she was gone he realized that she had really stared to grow on him.

"Ash? What are you doing here?"

Ash turned away from to window to see Queen Ilene approaching him. He glanced down at the noticeable bulge at the belly. Well, she _was_ four months pregnant now. He bowed to her.

"Your Majesty, it's good to see you up and about by yourself," said Ash smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"We're fine," she said, a hand touching passing over her unborn child. "Of course it was touch and go for a while, but well everything ended up alright."

"You think?" said Ash blankly. Considering that she and her child had been in a critical condition for several days following the incident, it was a miracle that they had both come out of it alright. The doctors didn't even let her walk around until two weeks had passed. "Is there anything I can help you with right now?" he asked. Ilene nodded daintily holding out a hand.

"You may escort me to the entrance of the castle," she said. "I'm meeting someone there who should be arriving fairly soon."

"I live to serve," said Ash grandly, bowing again as he took her hand. Ilene just laughed. "Anyway," said Ash, as then made their way slowly down the hall, "what's the deal with the RG. Have you and Cynthia worked something out yet?"

"Actually yes," she said. "Though it was difficult to get the cooperation of the higher ups from both sides, we've managed to come to an agreement. The details are boring but the main point is that we are merging with the RG." Ash shrugged.

"Cool, I figured that's what was going to happen," he said, much to Ilene's surprise.

"You support it?" said Ilene. Ash nodded. "Well that's comforting. I've been having the hardest time trying to separate Cain's actions from Korinek's, as well as Cain personal ambitions from the RG in general. This whole affair really left a bad taste in everyone's mouths." They fell into silence. Ash tried not to think about Cain or Korinek. There was to much bitterness. "Tell me Ash..." continued Ilene, pulling him back to reality. "How have you been lately?"

"How have I been?" he repeated, not expecting the change in topic. "I'm fine."

"You've been avoiding everyone a lot lately, going off on your own," said Ilene. Ash looked away. It was true he hadn't been specifically _trying_ to spend time with anyone but he wouldn't say he was avoiding people. "You should really just go talk to Cynthia." Ash looked at her sharply.

"For crying out loud, does _everyone_ know about my personal life?" he said exasperatedly. Ilene shook her head.

"We don't just talk about politics when we're together, you know," she said pointedly. "I've heard about what happened in the throne room that night. I can only image what she was going through..." Ilene frowned sadly. "And yet despite all of this she still did her best to help us reach peace, putting her personal matters aside." They came to a stop. Ilene put a hand on Ash's cheek, looking up into his eyes. "It's been two month's Ash. I think she's waited long enough, don't you?" Ash sighed internally. Why were all the women he knew so meddlesome.

"My Queen, you must forgive me but I can no longer escort you to the entrance," said Ash, taking her hand in his own. "A matter of grave importance has come up which I cannot put aside any longer, even for one so beautiful and enchanting as yourself." Ilene just pinched him.

"Don't be cheeky," she said, pulling on his face like it was rubber. "Now get out of here."

XxxxX

Cynthia sat on the steps in the throne room, staring off into space. Even though it had been two months since the incident it still bit into her like a fresh wound. The throne room was as beautiful as when she had first stepped into it, free of crumbling walls and broken glass. If anything it was even more magnificent. It was interesting in that throughout the entire battle only the throne itself remained untouched, almost a testament to what it represented. Looking around, it was hard to imagine that something so unbelievable had occurred here. In fact, if it weren't for the marking on her body she may well have written the entire thing off as an elaborate dream. Unfortunately, however much she may have wanted to be able to do that, there was just no way she could.

Her teacher ended up becoming a mass murderer, and her mother had gone from being killed in an accident to being murdered as well. The only positive thing that had happened was that her father was actually alive, but if he had been alive then why didn't he make himself known to her. Why had he left her to such loneliness for so many years. Didn't he care about her? Even after two months she could not bring herself to ask this question. She was too afraid of the answer. On top of all this, Miranda had vanished, and Ash... she did not want to think about him. However, on the contrary, Ash filled her mind more often than he didn't. Her mind was such a mess, as was her heart. Closing her eyes, she put her forehead against her knees and hugged her legs.

Cynthia felt a pulse brush the back of her mind. It was so strange, these sensations that she had never felt before were suddenly happening more and more frequently; stirring something within her but always remaining out of her understanding. Not having talked to anyone about it she still had no idea what it might me. Of course, she hadn't much talked to anyone these days but the Queen. Another pulse. It felt so familiar, but she didn't know why. Ash filled her thoughts again. She just wanted to see him. Even if it were just for a minute. Suddenly she slammed her balled up hands on the ground beside her. She should _not_ have to be going through something like this considering that they were staying in the same place! That annoying, obnoxious, attractive, damn-

"There you are, Cynthia," came a voice from the other end of the room. Cynthia looked up quickly. As if called by her thoughts, Ash Ketchum stood at the doors, looking up at her. Closing the doors shut behind himself, he made his way to the stairs. Cynthia quickly wiped her eyes on her knees, trying not to be obvious about it. Ash frowned as he got closer, Cynthia did not look well.

"What's wrong?" he asked, standing a few steps below her.

"Nothing," said Cynthia, shaking her had.

"You can't fool me, Cynthia, I know you better than that," said Ash flatly. Cynthia glared at him.

"You don't know me at all." The words had escaped her lips before she could stop them. Ash looked away for am moment before returning his gaze resolutely.

"You may be right, but that doesn't mean I'm not. Why are you sitting in here by yourself?" he asked.

"Maybe I wanted to be alone."

"I see." He turned his back to her. Taking a step down the stairs. Cynthia jerked out her hand to grab him- to stop him from leaving- but he was out of her reach. What was wrong with her! She shut her eyes tightly again, furious at herself to the point of screaming. She didn't want him to go! But instead of hearing receding footsteps she heard a soft thump. Ash had plopped himself on the steps in front of her, his back facing her. Cynthia was immediately reminded of the night they had been watching the stars. Once again, all she had to do was reach out an arm...

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, causing her to pull back the hand that had been inching towards him. "For how I've been acting lately. I didn't mean to avoid you so much."

"It's- it's alright, Ash," she said softly. "I haven't exactly been trying to come find you either, just complaining about you to the Queen." Ash chuckled.

"Yeah she came and kicked me in the pants earlier," he said. "I've been wanting to talk to you but I just wasn't really sure how to do it, not to mention Miranda-" he broke off and Cynthia looked at the floor. Of course it was still eating at him. Miranda had been so close to him for so long after all, and suddenly she was gone. He hadn't even been able to say any type of proper goodbye.

"Ash-"

"So I think I'm in love with you," he said bluntly, turning to face her. Whatever Cynthia had been about to say was obliterated in the face of that statement.

"I- wha- what?" Ash sighed and pulled off his hat, running a hand through his unkempt hair.

"I've been really confused these past few months about you and Miranda," he explained. "Still confused actually. It's been impossible to straighten anything in my head out. First it was just Miranda's constant presence then you made your way in there without me even realizing it. Now Miranda's gone. Somewhere I can't ever follow. Even after all those years of knowing her I never really told her how much she meant to me, and now I never will. But you're still here and I don't want to regret something like that ever again. So," he paused, meeting Cynthia's eyes, "I think I'm in love with you." Cynthia was staring at him, eyes now narrowing dangerously.

"You can't _think_ you love someone, Ash," she said slowly, keeping a firm hand on her emotions. "You either do or you don't. Additionally," she put her hands on her hips, "in all my life I've been confessed to by hundreds and hundreds of guys but _never_ has a guy confessed to me by saying he liked another girl in the same breath." She moved forwards and positioned herself at his back, letting her arms slide around his front and pull him firmly against her front. His back was wonderfully warm. Her whole body tingled from the contact. How badly she had been wanting to do this for months... just touch him. "I'm in love with you Ash Ketchum, even after that crappy confession." They sat there for a minute in silence. Ash felt relieved, not to mention overwhelmed by what she had said. She loved him? Did she really just say that?

"Now..." Suddenly Ash felt an overwhelming sense of dread. "Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?!" she shouted, causing him to jump. "While you went around trying to puzzle things out in your free time I suffered! Even after the whole incident you still didn't come near me! How do you think that made me feel!" She pounded his back with a fist. "My mother was murdered, my dad is alive somehow and Cain- I don't even know what to think about him!" She hit him again. "Not to mention all of these new aura things I've been going through. I needed someone to talk to, but you were completely avoiding me!" Ash braced himself for another blow but it never came. Instead he felt her lean against his back again, arms wrapped around him even tighter than before. "Don't _do_ that." Ash rested his arms on hers, holding them securely.

"I won't. I promise."

xxx

Unbeknownst to the two, a man peeked in on them through the front door, grinning sneakily.

"Leon, what are you doing," said another man, walking up to the peeper. Leon jumped and looked around but relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Keep it down, Gabe," said Leon, putting his eye back to the crack in the door.

"Spying on someone? How long have you been there anyway?" said Gabriel, crossing his arms.

"I just got here," he said. Gabriel just shook his head.

"Infantile to say the least." Leon straightened and looked at the shorter man.

"Hey hey, is that really any way to talk to your future in-law?" he said. Gabriel raised an eyebrow and moved to the doors peeking through the crack. It was pretty obvious who was on the steps. He shook his head.

"Yes I can see what you mean," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "They're hugging, ring the wedding bells."

"Jeez you're one cold father," said Leon.

"You're one to talk, avoiding your daughter for so many years like that," he retaliated. Leon put up his hands. "At least I had no idea the boy existed."

"That's even worse...never mind," he said. "Is he ready?"

"Yeah let's go," said Gabriel. The two men walked away from the throne room and deeper into the castle.

"So you knew Cain before he met Claire, right?" asked Leon curiously.

"Yeah we grew up for a number of years together in Sinnoh, but I eventually moved to the Kanto region with my parents," Gabriel explained. "I didn't see him again until well after I had a daughter though he was still the same old Cain. From what I hear he latched onto you shortly after I left."

"Sounds about right..." Leon frowned. "Do you think he'll actually tell us what we want to know." Gabriel shrugged. They walked in silence the rest of the way, finally arriving at a door guarded by no less than four Knight class Guardians.

"We'll see him now," said Gabriel. They nodded allowing him to pass with Leon. They entered a medium sided room bare of most furniture. There was a single window at the back of the room, in front of which sat a man in a wheelchair. He turned to face the newcomers.

"Welcome," said Cain, smiling, "my two best friends."

XxxxX

Ash and Cynthia now sat at the top of the stairs facing each other, talking softly in the large room.

"I'm sorry about Cain," said Cynthia.

"Where did that come from?" asked Ash.

"I used to have a huge crush on him when I was young and he really did treat me so well that it came back," explained Cynthia guiltily. "And I was really angry at you for talking about Miranda when I wanted you to be there just for me. So I said things I shouldn't have."

"Don't worry about it, you were mad," said Ash. Cynthia watched as he was absently tracing a strange pattern on his shirt. Something occurred to her.

"Is that where your marking is?" she asked, pointing to his chest. Ash nodded.

"Yeah, I've been doing a lot of research into how the markings have- what's the word- manifested themselves in humans," he said, patting his chest lightly. "Considering what I already knew, which is probably the most of anyone in the world, I've developed some interesting theories."

"Alright, Professor Ketchum, let's hear it," said Cynthia, crossing her arms with a smirk.

"Well first of all we know that the markings provide a connection with Pokemon," he said at which Cynthia nodded. "We both know this from Miranda. Now from what I've seen and learned about what's happened to everyone, there doesn't seem to be anyone with multiple individual markings."

"How do you know?" asked Cynthia.

"Well considering what a hot topic the markings are on pretty much every news station and in every conversation ever at this point, someone having more than one would probably come up somewhere but it hasn't," said Ash. "Of course I don't know that for sure but it seems likely."

"That would mean Miranda is..."

"Still pretty much an unexplained demigod," finished Ash. "Now the other thing is that there seem to be two types of markings. On one hand there are the ones like Cain and Miranda have, which grant a connection with a specific Pokemon. They are pretty unique because they also seem to have some characteristics that connect them to that particular Pokemon. Korinek's marking looked like a paw print, thinking on it. On the other hand it seems like there are markings that allow a weaker connection with Pokemon but with those of a specific type. I've seen ones like that on people all over the place. They don't really have a specific shape and are pretty generic, though no two markings look the same. It would seem that the unique ones are pretty rare." Cynthia frowned in thought.

"Do you think they can change? The markings I mean," she said.

"I do," he said. "Cain used aura to enhance his marking and even make it change shape though we really can't be sure if that was natural or not. In any case, we know they can be altered. So then why not level up, in a sense. Who knows," he added with a shrug. "Babies are being born with them so maybe you start with one for a type and after you develop the connection it may change into an individual one. Though who knows what Pokemon that would be with."

"There's no way it would work out perfectly for everyone, getting a connection with your favorite Pokemon or something along those lines," said Cynthia. "But I'm sure that people will start developing their teams according to their markings to improve their power."

"Yeah, the people who master how to use the markings power will likely be on top, though I hope that not too many people go overboard with it," said Ash darkly. Cynthia remembered the state of the plaza outside the main stadium in Element City after Miranda had gone berserk there. Not to mention the rebound her body suffered for hours after that. "Regardless, people need to fall before they learn to walk and run. This will be no different."

"You know, maybe in some ways its a good thing that Miranda isn't around for this," said Cynthia, making Ash look at her sharply. "I only mean that she would be singled out and probably hunted after by other groups of people because she has so many markings. I wouldn't want her to go through all that again."

"Yeah," said Ash sadly. They had been through a lot while traveling around, avoiding the Hunter Corps whenever they came to call. Still that didn't mean there hadn't been plenty of good times. Cynthia cast her mind around for something different to talk about.

"So what kind of marking did you get?" Ash looked at her confused. "You just classified them didn't you? Type or individual?"

"Oh, individual," he said. "What about you?"

"Definitely not type," she said. "Let me see yours."

"Alright," said Ash, pulling his shirt up and over his head. Cynthia looked at his chest in wonder, though not just because it looked good. Ash was fitter than he seemed. At the center of his chest was a diamond-like shaped mark. On either side of it were zigzagged lines that sort of looked like wings. "Well?" said Ash apprehensively. Cynthia blinked and cleared her throat.

"Interesting," she said. "It's nothing like mine."

"Does it remind you of anything?" asked Ash, putting his shirt back on. Cynthia frowned.

"Not really," she said honestly. Ash nodded expectantly. "Do you know what Pokemon you're connected to?"

"Of course," he said smugly.

"Is that because you can feel the connection?" asked Cynthia sounding impressed. Ash shook his head.

"Nah I can tell from the shape," he said simply. "Plus she said something to me that confirmed it. I've done some light experimenting since." Cynthia blinked. There were only two Pokemon she knew of that Ash had that were female and could actually talk to him.

"Ninetales or Gardevoir, no wait-" she said putting her fist in her hand. "It's has to be Gardevoir. Those wing things on the sides are shaped like Gardevoir's ears and the middle bit is the red thing on her chest. Aww that's really cute," she finished, smiling. "I'll bet she's happy. Poor Pikachu though."

"Yeah you got that right," said Ash with a sigh. "He was super bummed out, but it isn't really that big of a deal. He and I have a bond just as close in here," he said, putting a hand on his heart. "Now, show me yours."

"What?" said Cynthia in alarm.

"Come on, I showed you mine, so now it's your turn." He waited expectantly. Cynthia just grew red. Making a split decision she stood up and grabbed his hand. "Hey where are we going?" he asked in confusion as she dragged him to the side exit. Cynthia bit her lip, Ash could be so dense sometimes.

"You want to see don't you?" He nodded. "Then don't say anything and follow me," she said, and started off towards her room, steeling herself. This was going to take a lot of courage.

XxxxX

As the door snapped shut, Cain looked at his two visitors in curiosity. He knew why Leon was here but Gabriel not so much. No matter. Whatever happened, happened.

Leon immediately walked forwards and drew back his fist punching Cain as hard as he could across the face. Cain toppled over immediately, falling to the floor in pain. He didn't resist though. Leon knelt next to Cain and drew back his fist again but he was stopped by Gabriel.

"Once is enough, Leon." Leon looked back at him then let out a huff of air. He stood back up and walked to the middle of the room, straightening his shirt as he cooled down. Cain wiped blood from his cut lip and righted the wheelchair before locking the wheels and clambering back into it. Gabriel looked at him with mild interest. "Remind me exactly why you're in that thing?"

"That bastard Nier stabbed me in the side and it nicked my spine," said Cain with a shrug. "I pretty much thought I was dead, but there are some very good doctors in this castle, that's for sure." He shook his head. "But that's not really important now is it? What can I do you you both?"

"I want answers Cain," said Leon, pulling over a chair and sitting in it. He frowned sadly. "You're the best friend I ever had. Why go through everything you did to evolve humans, and why, _why_, did you drag my daughter through it."

"Years and years ago I discovered something that completely reworked the way I saw the human-pokemon relationship. A ruin that had ancient writings and pictures of an age of the world where humans and Pokemon were connected. They were somehow joined through a mysterious power. They didn't understand where it came from but they knew it had to do with their markings. I found a room completely covered with drawings of them. Thousands and thousands of different drawings. I have pictures of this locked away in my safe at my home," he added, in case either man didn't believe him. "I continued to explore and discovered one more thing. This civilization of people and Pokemon worked around another great power that not only connected people and Pokemon, but all things."

"Aura," said Gabriel, understanding. Cain nodded.

"Precisely. The way in which the drawings were done and the layout of the ruin, as well as other things archaeologists and Pokemon historians look for, all pointed to Aura governing everything. And so I had a loose but decent grasp of how it worked. Of course, neither Aura and especially not the connection were prevalent in our current day. Aura was there, but not in the way it was then. So I wanted to find out about why the connection was lost over time." Cain paused, wheeling himself back and forth. "I was stuck here for a while. The only way something so prevalent in a society can disappear is really in two ways. Either everything is wiped out, or it's lost in evolution. Nothing suggested that an immeasurable number of people had died so it had to be the second point. The problem was I couldn't find anything that gave information about the time in between. That's when I got my breakthrough."

"You're talking about that journal," said Leon. Cain looked at him in surprise but grinned wryly.

"I see you've been in my office," he said. "Yes, I discovered that a journal existed about a group of people who worshiped a particular Pokemon as a god. It was a pretty common concept. This journal was apparently written by a historian fascinated by the tribe of people. He preserved his work well and it was handed down through his family as an heirloom."

"How did you get it?" asked Leon, though he felt he already knew the answer.

"Nier, how else," said Cain flatly. "The man is the most adept sneak thief alive. How else do you think he spirited your Cynthia away from a high class hotel without even being noticed. In any case, I learned an incredible amount about a group known as the Eon Tribe. I knew their origin and potentially where they could have ruins, but it was too much for me, so I approached Korinek about it. About Korinek," Cain said, holding up his hand before either man could say something, "I was acquainted with him before he joined the Hunters. He was a brilliant scientist and was fascinated by ancient cultures. I told him about my research and he told me that if I ever needed help with something related to it to let him know. So I did."

"I gave Korinek the information about the Eon Tribe and he set out to look for me because he then had the resources to do it efficiently." Cain paused, unsure how to say what came next. "Now this next part is still a complete mystery to me. I honestly don't know how it was even possible. But instead of locating ruins like I expected, I found that Korinek actually _found living people_." Cain shook his head, clearly puzzled by it. "I just can't fathom how it would be possible. For a tribe centuries and centuries old to be still existing today is impossible without being know to someone or something. There was no way it could have happened, but it did. Korinek returned, his teams badly scarred, with something far more dangerous than pictures of a ruin. He returned with blood samples and a first hand experience of what that connection was. In addition to that I knew that the Eon Tribe had no connection to aura. They simple were existing off of the connection."

"Korinek then came to me with an idea; a fantastic and unbelievable revelation. The connection was genetic, and he could reintroduce it into humanity. We could recreate an age I've always dreamed of seeing. The fact that I then led the Royal Guardians only seemed to fit this destiny even more perfectly! With Korinek I would bring the world back to an age unlike anything even imagined before..."

"Clearly," said Cain, facing them with a sigh, "I was drunk by this ambition. To see ages long lost is a historian's most seductive dream. I remember thinking how if only Leon were alive to be able to see this through with me. I was convinced that you would have been my partner in all this for sure."

"You're probably right, up until the part where you start talking about ultimate power with my daughter at your side and the blood of hundreds of thousands of people on your hands." At his Cain's face darkened.

"I was... not aware of just how bad the consequences were going to be," said Cain softly, looking down at his hands. "Though it was Korinek's creation in every aspect, I provided him with the spark that fueled his ambitions and even created this entire mess. I was so caught up in bring the world into a new age that I lost sight of what wouldn't make it there as well. I know I have an unimaginable amount of blood on my hands. I have yet to have a single night's sleep void of nightmares. Though it isn't punishment enough for my sins."

"Just, why did you bring Cynthia into all of this," said Leon, leaning back into his chair. It wasn't what Cain had done that stuck in his mind. It was that as a historian himself, he wasn't sure whether he would have been able to resist doing the exact thing that Cain had done. Cain lowered his head, looking at the floor.

"You and Claire suddenly died and I had lost two of my close friends," he said sadly. "No, more than that. You were my best friend and I had much love for Claire. She was my charge after all. The current Princess of the Royal Guardians. And then all that was there was Cynthia. My bright student, the spitting image of her mother, who was suddenly so lost. I did my best to take care of her and support her. Eventually I was unable to stay with her but I kept a watchful eye. Before I knew it she was a grown woman, and the Champion of the Sinnoh League," he added with a smile. I was in the process of working with Korinek and our dreams would soon be realized. At that point I was more blinded by the possibilities of the future than I'd like to admit. I saw the Royal Guardians taking control of the monarchy as a way to further fulfill both destinies. For that, Cynthia would need to assume the role as Queen, though I would obviously be the one who ruled with my knowledge of the connection and aura's place in it all."

"I changed. I treated her well only to her face, otherwise being cold and ruthless. I felt like a completely different person. After years and years of trying to achieve something magnificent, I lost sight of myself. Claire started popping up in front of my face whenever I saw Cynthia. I felt like she was trying to make me stop but I couldn't. And so you know the rest," he finished. Leon was silent as was Gabriel. He hadn't asked questions but he found out what he wanted.

"You've done something I can't find it in myself to forgive you for," said Leon, standing up. "As much as I want to. However, when it comes to my daughter, I'll let her decide whether or not I should come back and beat you to death."

"I don't expect to be forgiven, Leon," said Cain, looking up at his friend. "I just wanted you to know why I did what I did. That's all." The door suddenly clicked open and two women walked in, shutting it behind them.

"Your Majesty," said Gabriel, bowing. Leon bowed as well. He looked at the woman beside her but didn't know who she was. She wore robes that made her look like she was from a temple of some kind. She made no indication that anyone in the room even existed.

"Queen Ilene, I'm glad to see that you're doing well," said Cain, bowing slightly in his seat.

"The same to you, Cain Bernhardt," she sad coolly. "May I present Elder Lark, a member of the Order of Aura." Gabriel's eyes widened in surprise and he bowed his head even more deeply to the new woman. Glancing at Gabriel's reaction, Leon copied him. Cain however paled slightly.

"Cain Bernhardt," said Lark, her voice melodic, yet carrying a hint of something akin to death. "I am here to judge you, as ordained by the Order.

XxxxX

Ash was in a predicament. He thought he had finally seen the last of the "Law of Romantic Ignorance" that plagued so many main characters, including himself, when he realized that Miranda didn't just think he was a nice guy with a Pikachu. However, almost as if to spite him, he had somehow obliviously found himself sitting on Cynthia's bed while watching said Champion remove her top with her back to him. She stood only a few feet away from him. It wasn't like he'd never seen a naked girl before, he _met_ Miranda when she was naked and over the years had accidentally walked in on her a couple of times. So yes, he knew what girls looked like. Cynthia pulled her long hair through the neck of the shirt and put it aside, leaving her with just a black bra. She glanced back at Ash over her shoulder, her face lightly blushed.

"What?" she said shyly. Ash just shook his head rapidly. There was no doubt about it. This was _not_ something he had been through before. Cynthia turned around slowly, her hands covering her breasts in embarrassment.

"Woah," said Ash softly. Cynthia blushed deeper. Sure they had just exchanged some version of a mutual confession. At least she was sure of her feelings for him. But at the same time that had just been more like getting something off of her chest and out into the open. She _felt _better now that he knew. Standing before him without a shirt was completely different. Ash, oblivious to Cynthia's inner dilemma, was looking at both her body and the marking she had. Cynthia's body was so slender, her skin looked so smooth. Right in the middle of it all, running from just above her bellybutton all the way to her neck was Cynthia's marking. At first Ash thought it looked like just a number of lines that were interwoven, dividing her torso in two. It was an interesting loose braid of sorts, only about an inch wide. His eyes followed it up from her bellybutton, in between her breasts and finally where it stopped, just below her collarbone. Upon closer inspection showed that it jutted out slightly towards the top, giving it the look of a small cross.

"W-well?" said Cynthia nervously.

"It's a sword," said Ash in amazement. Impulsively he ran a finger down the lower half of the marking causing Cynthia to breathe in sharply, her eyes closed tight. Ash quickly withdrew his finger.

"I'm sorry," he said abashedly.

"It's- alright," said Cynthia after a second. "You... don't have to stop." She moved slightly closer to him, inviting him... Ash slowly ran a finger along her marking again, watching her muscles tighten wherever his finger went. He drew his finger higher than before, reaching the space between her breasts but going no higher, unable to pass her bra without lifting it. Cynthia was breathing lightly and rapidly, her eyes closed, mind in a haze. Ash was wrapped up in his own little world. It was so... _intoxicating_.

When he stopped, Cynthia let out a long breath and collapsed onto the bed, sitting next to him. She rested her forehead on his shoulder, still breathing somewhat fast. Her body felt so strange, she was in such a state. Opening her eyes she looked up to find Ash's face barely inches from her own. The closeness made her mind fuzzy. Ash leaned forwards and pressed his lips against hers. A bolt of heat coursed through her body, giving her the sensation of shivering all over, though not a hair on her body stirred. All she was aware of was his lips and his presence. After few seconds Ash pulled away.

"Did you feel that?" she asked, her voice quiet as if she had little breath to spare. Ash nodded.

"Yeah, I did." They embraced again, more fiercely, slowly falling back onto the bed.

XxxxX

"You've come to judge me?" asked Cain uneasily. "The Royal Guardians fell out with the Elders hundreds of years ago. We didn't recognize you and you in turn disowned us. You have no jurisdiction to judge me."

"Ah that's right, you wouldn't know," said Queen Ilene, stepping forward. "We haven't really kept you updated have we. The Royal Guardians and the rest of the Aura Guardians have merged back into one group. It happened just the other day actually."

"What?" shouted Cain in astonishment. "There's no way that they would agree to something like that."

"Believe it or not, it's true," said Lark, stepping forward, placing a thin glove on her right hand. It was covered with various intricate designs. Her had began to glow with a deep blue fire. "With the union of the two groups, you have become my charge again, and I will judge you. Will you resist me?" Cain looked at Gabriel and Leon who both watched him carefully. He shook his head.

"No, of course not. I am more guilty than can be imagined," he said. Lark put her left hand into a pocket of her robe and pulled out a perfectly spherical crystal.

"Good," said Lark, slamming the gloved hand over his face. He gripped the arms of the wheelchair as the glow intensified, spreading throughout his body until he was completely glowing as well. As the aura on the gloved hand grew more intense the crystal began to glow as well. Holding the crystal to the back of the gloved hand Lark whispered, "I banish you." At once the glow vanished completely from Cain, all being absorbed into the small sphere. A few seconds later Lark stepped back, looking at her handiwork.

"What- have you done to me!" said Cain, breathing heavily. He felt like she had just ripped out his essence.

"I took your aura. Well most of it anyway. You're no longer an Aura Guardian," she said, pocketing the sphere. She pulled off the glove and placed it in a pocket as well. "May your soul find salvation." Nodding to the Queen they both left, leaving the three men in the room.

"Elder Lark, don't you feel that was a bit much?" asked Ilene, looking at the woman. Lark shrugged.

"Meh, it wasn't anything personal, Ilene," she said. "That was the verdict of the Council."

"Does he, regret what he's done?" asked Ilene tentatively. She was one of the few people who actually knew of Lark's true abilities. Lark frowned.

"Yes and no," she said. "But truthfully much more yes than no. He regrets the loss of life for sure."

"What should we do with him?" asked Ilene, as they turned a corned.

"Let him go back home," she said. "He's harmless at this point. Any punishment he'll receive at this point will be of his own making, whether he likes it or not." Ilene nodded. Suddenly she remembered something.

"That's right, aren't you good friends with Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion?" she said cheerfully. Lark raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"How did you know that?"

"Well seeing as how she's now a part of the Aura Guardian business I was explaining some of the structure to her and she said that she knew about the Elders and was a close friend with one." Ilene poked her friend lightly. "Elder Lark, to be exact."

"Yes it's true I am close with her why?" asked Lark.

"She's still here in the castle," explained Ilene. "She spoke quite highly of you when we talked, I'm sure she would like to see you again. Shall I send for her?"

"I already knew she was in the castle," said Lark, tapping her head. "But right now she's pretty busy so I don't think she'd appreciate being interrupted." Ilene just looked at Lark in puzzlement. "By the way, did Cynthia get a boyfriend recently? I know it's been a while but I always remember her being pretty reserved."

"A boyfriend?" repeated Ilene confused. "I don't think so, why? What's she doing?" Lark rolled her eyes at Ilene's airheadedness. She turned around and lightly tapped Ilene's belly.

"What do _you_ think, preggo?" Ilene's brain suddenly caught up with her and she blushed in embarrassment. "Speaking of good times, where's your boy toy?"

"He's not my boy toy!" shouted Ilene getting even more frustrated.

"Actually I'm curious about something," said Lark, rubbing her chin. "Doesn't being pregnant give you guys like a free pass or something? I mean you can't get pregnant in the _middle_ of being pregnant can you?"

"Stupid, nosy virgin," said Ilene through the corner of her mouth. She quickly covered it as Lark death glared at her. "I mean, why don't I show you where your room is. You'll be staying for a couple days right? Ahahahaaa..."

XxxxX

"Ember come on, we've been called back to the castle by the Commander," said Sonia, looking at the younger girl. They stood on the middle of the bridge, looking over into the lake.

"Right," said Ember, walking over. Sonia looked at the girl and sighed. Taking Ember's face in both her hands, Sonia ran her tongue from the bottom of her chin to her forehead. Ember just blinked, her mouth slightly open, unable to process what had just happened then...

"SONIA! EWWWW!" she shouted running around in small circles, wiping her face on her sleeves. "Oh my god, oh my god that was DISGUSTING!" Sonia couldn't help it. She burst out laughing so hard that she couldn't keep herself standing. Instead she sunk to her knees, crying from laughter. Ember looked at the woman with the intent to kill.

"Ember, relax would you?" said Sonia after she regained control, standing up again. "_Listen_ to me," she said more seriously. Ember crossed her arms. "It's about time you let those two go, don't you think?" Ember looked at the ground, all the fight going out of her. 'Those two' were without a doubt Nel and Miranda. Nel had been her friend and Miranda had quickly grown on her. It was hard to let them go just like that. Sonia put her arm around Ember and began walking her to the castle.

"I let Miranda come to the battle even though I knew she shouldn't have," said Ember. "And the only reason Nel was even there was because she saw Miranda and went to protect her. Bottom line, their disappearance is _my fault_."

"I'll do something worse if you don't stop sulking," said Sonia, her voice dangerous, but Ember just grimaced. "Ember it isn't your fault. No one blames you for what happened. Even _Ash_ said it wasn't your fault!" Ember still said nothing. "He said that if it's true that they were taken through time by a Celebi then it's likely that they would have been taken no matter where they were. It just happened to be here." Ember sighed. She knew Sonia was right, but it didn't stop her from blaming herself.

"Thank's Sonia," she said, hugging her friend tightly. "Let's get back and see what Dad needs from us."

XxxxX

Two days later

With the negotiations over, everyone began to get ready to go back to their daily lives, albeit with a few alterations. Sonia took the remaining Element Guardians stationed in Rota back in an airship to Element. Ember and Gabriel however remained behind. They would be traveling with Ash to Pallet Town. Without the knowledge of either Gabriel or Ash, Ember had organized a family get together at the Ketchum residence, and she was _not_ taking no for an answer. Ash agreed in the end because he needed to head to Pallet Town as well. He finally got in contact with Scott and told him that he was ready to take his position as a Frontier Brain. Cynthia and Leon were heading back to Sinnoh. Ash had hoped that Cynthia could spend some more time with him but he understood her need to catch up with her father. There was still a lot to be talked about there.

"You sure you're going to be alright?" asked Ash, pulling Cynthia aside while Leon waited for her.

"Of course," she said with a shrug. "If mom could handle him, I can handle him."

"Leon can be really invasive at times too," warned Ash, knowing that he was listening to their conversation. He just laughed and walked outside into the sunlight. There was a carriage there waiting to take them to the edge of town where a car would take them to the airfield. They would be hitching a ride with some returning Sinnoh Guardians.

"I'll be careful," said Cynthia. Glancing around to make sure they were still alone, she leaned in and kissed him lightly, cheeks slightly red. "Now that you have a job, get a cellphone so I can talk to you. I'll get one too. You have the number to my home that I gave you earlier."

"I will," said Ash, walking her to the door. "I'll see you soon."

He watched her climb into the carriage which slowly made its way across the long bridge. A hand clapped itself on Ash's shoulder. While another held out a bottle of water.

"Nice catch, Ash," said Riley appreciatively, looking after the carriage as well. Where the hell had he been hiding? Ash brushed him off and grabbed the water bottle.

"Yeah yeah, where have you been anyway?" he asked, walking back into the castle.

"I've been busy tying up loose ends in Sinnoh," said Riley. "I'm not going back there for a while."

"Staying close to the Queen?" said Ash with a grin. He uncapped the bottle and took a couple of gulps.

"Well yeah man, she's having my kid," said Riley. Ash spit his water everywhere. Riley just stared at him nonplussed. "You didn't know?" Ash just shook his head, still dripping. Riley couldn't help but laugh. "Ash you are so oblivious some times. Anyway when do you leave?"

"Pretty soon," said Ash, looking around the entrance hall. "Dad and Ember aren't here yet so they're probably still getting ready, though who knows for what," he added with a shrug. "It's only going to take a little while to get there anyway."

"Well why don't you just stroll around or something," suggested Riley, leaning against a wall. "I'll give you a pulse when they get here."

XxxxX

Ash had only been walking for a few minutes when he felt a pulse.

"Already?" he said to himself. No that wasn't Riley, but he knew that aura signature. He knew it really well but he just couldn't- Ash's mind went cold. He knew who that was. He knew it very well. Within in a minute he had entered the throne room, placing himself face to face with none other than the Demon Elder, Lark.

"I didn't realize _you_ were here," said Ash coolly. Lark looked at him, eyes unreadable.

"I was hoping I could get to see you once before you or I left for home," she said softly. She moved closer to him until they were a few feet away from each other.

"Well, you've seen me," said Ash flatly. "Was there anything I could do for you, _Elder_?" Lark winced at the emphasis he put on her title. She said nothing, looking down at the floor. Letting out a breath Ash turned to leave.

"You've really grown into a fine young man," said Lark suddenly. Ash stopped moving.

"And you look exactly the same as you did five years ago."

"I'm glad to see you're doing alright..." Lark moved directly behind him, tentatively sliding her arms around his chest and pulling him into a hug. "I know you still haven't forgiven me, but it hurts you not to. I can feel it you know."

"I know," said Ash blankly. He did know. He knew _all_ about this woman's cursed ability. Forcefully but not roughly, Ash extricated himself from Larks arms. He could feel Riley sending out a pulse. Ash sent out a return pulse, sensing his father and sister next to Riley. "I have to go," he said to Lark.

"Bye Ash," she said to him as he left the room. "Take care."

Putting the encounter out of his mind, Ash returned to the entrance hall to a cheerful Riley, no-emotion father, and an annoyed sister.

"Come on Ash," she said. She walked out the door carrying her bag, returning a moment later. "Ash, there's no carriage here."

"Of course not," said Ash. "We're going by something way faster."

"Airship?" said Gabriel, confused.

"Faster."

"Garchomp?" asked Riley.

"Faster. "

A Pokemon suddenly appeared at his side with a graceful twirl. Ash held out his hand which the Pokemon took, giving the others a bow. Ash grinned.

"Gardevoir."

XxxxX

Miranda opened her eyes slowly. She was sitting on what felt like grass. While things slowly came into focus she realized that Nel was unconscious, her head still in her lap. Miranda pushed a strand of hair out of her face and stroked her head. He vision finally sharpening to more that of a normal human she looked around and gasped. The small town buildings of Rota were gone, replaced by massively tall shiny buildings that went up and up and up. Miranda saw an occasional car though it was floating along without wheels. Though there were no people in her immediate area, she could see people walking around with Pokemon all over the place. They seemed to be talking animatedly. All of them.

"Whew, we made it," said a voice from behind her. Miranda turned to see the same mysterious woman who had approached them in Rota. She walked in front of Miranda and turned to face her, taking off the visor and pulling the scarf down around her neck. A young woman looked down at her cheerfully.

"Where... where are we?" said Miranda, her mind still having trouble taking it all in.

"Ah that's right, you wouldn't know I forgot," said the girl. She bowed slightly and held her arms wide. "This is about two hundred years in the future. Welcome home, Mama."


	24. New Beginnings

Ash, Ember and Gabriel were in a car. After surprising Ember and Gabriel by teleporting them all to Pewter City, Ember had promptly beaten Ash over the head with her bag, telling him in no uncertain words that he was never to do that again.

"If we're in Pewter City then that means we're already half way there," said Gabriel. Ash nodded, scratching Pikachu under the chin absently.

"Yeah but it was a really long distance to teleport a bunch of people so we'll go by car the rest of the way," he said. "I already have one waiting for us here so let me go pick it up. Gardevoir, let's go." They vanished.

"I still can't get used to it," said Ember, sitting on her bag with a grunt. "It makes me so nauseous."

"I'll be honest I prefer airships," said Gabriel. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, waiting for Ash to show up.

"Are you sure you about this?" asked Ember suddenly, looking at her father.

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean going back to see Mom." Gabriel just crossed his arms.

"It's been a long time," he said, looking off into space. "I had to leave and I had to take you with me, but those reasons are long in the past now. I've been ignoring it for years. It's about time I went back for a visit." A car suddenly pulled up near them. Ash rolled down the window.

"Come on you two let's go," he said, popping the trunk. They piled their bags into it and climbed in. To Ash's great relief, Gabriel sat in the back, spreading out across the seat and closing his eyes. Ember just rolled her eyes and took the passenger seat. Pikachu settled himself in Ember's lap, getting the area behind his ears scratched automatically.

XxxxX

The ride was relatively pleasant. Ember plugged her music player into the auxiliary jack the car had and they listened to some very nostalgic tunes. They even sang together at times...

"I wanna be the very best, that no one ever was..." Gabriel just let out a ragged sigh and popped in earplugs he always made sure he had if he and Ember ended up in the same car.

"Haa, that brings back memories," said Ash, grinning happily. "How many of those do you have on that thing anyway?" Ember's eyes gleamed.

"Every season," she said proudly. "I've even got the soundtracks from the movies too."

"Damn, fan girl much?" said Ash, receiving a light punch on his arm.

"Come on, the movie music is really good," she argued. "Just try to tell me that you don't get pumped when your battling to it." Ash had to admit she was right.

A few hours later and Pallet Town could be seen in the distance. Ash looked around interested. Even from here he could tell that the town looked somewhat bigger than before. It was certainly less rural than the last time he had been back, but he wouldn't exactly call it urban. He remembered Lucy mentioning that Scott had been putting a lot of effort into Pallet. He wondered what that meant. As they passed by the Oak lab Ash couldn't help think how surprised all of his Pokemon would be to see him. Of course, they would have to wait just a little longer. Mother always comes first.

"We're here," said Ash, pulling up in front of the house. It was just as quaint as he always remembered it with the stone path, white fence, and small garden on the side. Pikachu darted out of the car and up to the door running through Mimey's legs as he came out to greet them. He giving Ash a bear hug before taking their stuff inside. Ash took one step inside then looked behind him. Ember and Gabriel were still standing on the front walk, looking at the house hesitantly. "Come on, Mom's waiting," Ash said after a moment. They blinked then followed him inside. "Mom?" he called. Delia burst into the hallway wearing an apron over her regular pink shirt and blue skirt. The apron had food stains on it, a wooden spoon in one hand and Pikachu hugged under the other arm. Cooking utensils and dirty apron forgotten she threw herself at her son, hugging him with all her might. Ash quickly grabbed onto the banister of the stairs to stop them from toppling over.

"Mom, calm down I just saw you a couple months ago!" said Ash ash Delia crushed his upper body. Pikachu was buried in the hug.

"I know sweetie but it's just so good to have you home." She finally released them and looked over Ash's shoulder. Ember and Gabriel stood in the doorway watching the scene. Ash moved out of the way and let her pass.

"Welcome home, Ember," she said, giving her daughter a big hug.

"H-hey Mom," said Ember, biting the inside of her lip so she wouldn't get emotional. Delia turned to Gabriel.

"Welcome home, Gabe." Gabriel looked down for a second, scratching the back of his head.

"Ah, I'm back," he said. Ember glanced at him. Apparently he had also expected a different greeting from his wife.

"Come on in, I'm just finishing making dinner," said Delia, walking back to the kitchen. "I know it's early but I'm sure you're all hungry. In truth they were hungry, as they hadn't stopped for for food during the trip.

"Mom, did you cook for an army or something?" came Ash's voice from the dining room. "This is awesome." He stood in front a feast, laid out in all its splendor. At first when they all sat down at the table there was a strange silence. Ash looked around, wishing this weren't so awkward. Then he spotted a particular dish making his eyes light up. "Awesome, pasta!" The others all sweatdropped as Ash shoveled food onto his plate where it barely rested a second before making its way to his mouth. Thanks to Ash being Ash, it helped to break up the tension. Ember and Delia talked most of the time about their lives, Gabriel occasionally saying some about his work in Element, or asking about old friends from the area. Ash just watched them stealthily from behind mouthfuls of food. Not that he didn't want to talk as well, he was just that hungry.

"Ash," said Delia as the meal wound down, "Why don't you take Ember around the house."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," he said, putting an arm around his sister. "Let's go to my room, I wonder what it looks like," he added, steering her out of the room and away. "Maybe it got converted into an art studio or something." Gabriel watched them go.

"Let's to to the study," said Delia, her voice making it quite clear it wasn't something debatable. After they entered the room she shut the door behind her and locked it. They stood there in silence for a long while. Gabriel looking at his wife while Delia's eyes were fixed on his feet. When he could no longer take it, Gabriel took a step forwards.

"Delia-"

_**SMACK**_

Delia hit Gabriel across the face as hard as she could. He staggered, seeing stars. He had forgotten how strong of an arm she had.

"What are you doing here!" she said fiercely, eyes blazing with anger and hurt. "After twenty-one _years!_"

"Delia, I-" but she wouldn't let him get a word in.

"A single mother with a broken family, and a son who always asked when his father was coming home! Do you have _any_ idea what you did to me? To us?" Gabriel looked heavily at the floor, his chest aching fiercely. _'Always asked for his father?' _He knew what it was like to have a child asking about their other parent all the time. Ember had always wanted to know about her mother after all.

"I'm sorry, I had no choice," he said.

"You- you could have taken me with you!"

"Delia please, you know that would have been impossible," Gabriel said evenly.

"I know that," said Delia bitterly. "Being a high ranking member of the Aura Guardians isn't always pleasant." The look on her face was heartbreaking. "But why didn't you come back?" Gabriel let out a breath of air.

"It was eight years before I had the chance to do that," he said. "I had no way to contact you until then and it was such a long time. I knew you must hate me for what I did, that you could never forgive me for being away for so long... so I buried my past, changed my name, and let it all fall behind me."

"All those years ago... when we found out I was pregnant, I was so happy." Delia leaned against the door, looking out the sole window wistfully. "That child was the symbol of our burning love. The spark of life that would start a beautiful family. Our little 'Ember'. Then you took her and disappeared. The fire was gone. I found out I was pregnant again but I felt cold. All that was left were 'Ashes'." Delia smirked though she had no humor in her heart. "It's kind of funny, thinking on it," she continued somewhat choked. "When I was trying to think of a name for my boy and the dark side of my heart came up with Ash, but I ended up liking it. Of course, it's a foul pun but it fits nicely."

Gabriel sat in a chair, hard. He ran his hands through his hair, making it unkempt. "I was an idiot."

"Yeah, you were," said Delia, moving over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I never stopped loving you. We had two beautiful children."

"Ash still hasn't forgiven me for what I did to you... and I suppose him as well," Gabriel added. "I guess I'm kind of hard on him too."

"That's alright, you both need time to get to know each other," said Delia, shifting so she could sit in his lap. "He will forgive you, just have faith."

"If you say so."

"You've done an excellent job with Ember by the way," said Delia proudly. "She's grown up well."

"Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if I wasn't a member of the Guardians," said Gabriel, eyes closed. "If things would have been better."

"Maybe," said Delia with a shrug. She leaned into her husband. "But you know, from where I am right now things don't really look so bad at all." Gabriel couldn't help but smile at that.

"No, I suppose not."

XxxxX

"Do you think... they're going to be alright?" asked Ember softly as they made their way through the upstairs hallway. Ash said nothing. Who could honestly know for sure.

"I'm sure they have a lot to say to each other," he shrugged after a moment. They quickly came to the last door in the hall. "Anyway, this is my-"

"What's wrong?" asked Ember, poking her head around him. "Did she turn it into a lounge or something?" They entered the perfectly preserved room of a young Pokemon trainer. Ash let out a long breath. It was exactly the way he had left it all those years ago. From the posters on the wall to the small TV in the corner to that damn Pidgey alarm clock that started it all. Ash ran a finger along a bookcase. It came away clean.

"Jeez not even any dust..." he muttered. He was really star ting to feel like an ass for leaving his mom so far out of the loop of his life. It wasn't like he _couldn't_ get in touch with her. He should have called her more. She was always alone here in this house. He knew that she had Mimey, but still.

"Hey Ash," said Ember, bringing him out of his reverie. "This is a nice collection. Where did you get them?" She was looking at a glass case. Ash moved beside her, finally noticing the one new addition to his room. Apparently his mother had gotten a display case in which she put all of his badges. They gleamed in the light from the room. Ash glanced at his sister, eyebrows raised slightly.

"Haven't you ever seen Gym badges before?" Ember blinked, looking back at the sets.

"You mean these are _all_ Pokemon League Gym badges?" she asked in shock.

"Yeah, I've got the ones from all the regions around here, as well as the Orange Islands to the south. Those are the shell looking ones." Ash scratched his chin. "I never made it to Unova though, or anywhere else in that hemisphere. I'll have to do that when I get some travel time." Ember just looked at him. She seemed to be regarding him in a whole new light. Ash frowned. "You know, if getting badges is so special, then why is it that I distinctly remember you being less than impressed with me being in the finals of the I-R Championship?" said Ash flatly. Ember's face grew slightly red.

"I dunno, you were being really cocky so I just kind of wanted to stick it to you," she said. "It's a little different to see it like this though." Ember's voice faded away as she broke away from the case, continuing to look around the room. Silence stretched on as Ash continued staring through the display case. He remembered each and every battle he went through to obtain those badges. Such grand adventures he had been through. The training and hardships he endured. It was an amazing thing. That display case held five years of memories. The bed creaked as Ember sat on it.

"Was it hard?"

"What?" Ash turned around to see Ember running a hand along a pillow.

"I had a lot of people around me when I grew up," said Ember, not meeting his eyes. "I didn't know my real mom, but I had the Guardians as a family." Ash sat down next to her. "Don't you hate us for leaving you?"

"I won't lie to you, it was hard," said Ash, looking out the window. "But still I coped. True I didn't have a choice about it but I ended up alright."

"Even if it was my fault?" she mumbled miserably. Ash looked at her. She was looking down, clearly depressed, hands in her lap. Had this always been in the back of her mind whenever they were together? He sighed before putting an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She blinked in surprise.

"Don't be stupid," said Ash.

XxxxX

The next day was as bright and sunny as anyone could have ever hoped for. Throughout the morning, the four of them spent time walking around Pallet Town. Ash was pleased to see that among the handful of additions to the town there was a quaint Pokemon Center.

"It was built two years ago due to the increased traffic this town began getting," Delia explained as they entered the Center. "I guess our town has become a little more popular, the restaurant has been doing really well lately too," she added with a smile. Ash looked around the small lobby and saw Nurse Joy at once. She was typing on a computer behind the main counter, eyes glinting behind a small pair of reading glasses.

"Hello Nurse Joy," he said with a smile, approaching the counter. She glanced at him briefly before taking off the glasses and letting them hang on a small chain around her neck.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center," she said kindly. "Would you like to heal your Pokemon?"

Ash shook his head. "No thank you, they are perfectly healthy. I actually just wanted to meet you." Joy blinked at him curiously. "I'm Ash Ketchum," he continued, intrigued by her subdued behavior. It was not often that one encountered a Nurse Joy that wasn't bubbling everywhere. "I'm-"

"The Battle Frontier Brain for this area," she finished quickly. "I've been informed of you by Scott. It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Ketchum."

"Ah, please call me Ash," he said slightly uncomfortable. He held out his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you." Joy blinked at his hand before shaking it, after which she immediately replaced the glasses on the bridge of her nose and returned her attention to the computer. What an odd Joy.

After a little more exploring with his family Ash excused himself, apologizing for his rudeness. While Gabriel and Ember were more than capable of taking a sudden vacation at their discretion, Ash really couldn't put his work off any longer. He would be able to spend some time with them later anyway. And so, as 5pm rolled around, Ash found himself waiting at the Pokemon center again. While he waited he watched Joy keep herself busy, straightening things around the room and writing in a notebook occasionally. More than once she glanced over at Ash but made no attempt to draw him into a conversation. A few minutes past five, the front doors opened to reveal rather large group.

"Great, he's here!" said Scott, walking into the building. "Hello Nurse Joy," he called over to the woman who merely nodded. Scott was trailed by all seven Brains, though Ash really didn't know what they were doing there.

"We're here to see the new facility," said Lucy, noticing his expression. Spencer and Noland nodded.

"Not you, obviously," added Anabel, sticking her tongue out at him. Ash smirked. She seemed to have finally returned to her old self, albeit slightly more playful than before.

"Obviously," repeated Ash with a shrug. To Scott he said, "So I'll take it you have a van or something?"

"Right in one, Ash," answered Scott, already moving to the door. "We have a lot to see and less time than I would have liked so lets get a move on."

Scott climbed into the drivers seat while Brandon took the passenger seat with absolutely no opposition. The rest of them clambered into the back three bench seats. Noland and Tucker sat in the first row, Greta and Spencer nabbed the second row, leaving Ash to sit between Lucy and Anabel, not that he was complaining. It wasn't like they were squashed together but their shoulders were certainly touching. Anabel took the opportunity to continue to tease him.

"Hey don't you think you're enjoying yourself a little too much?" she asked, looking at him sidelong. "What would Miranda say if she knew?" Unfortunately this seemed to have the complete opposite effect on Ash as she thought it would. His expression grew noticeably sadder. "I- did something happen?" she asked quietly, her voice slightly masked by the rumble of the engine. Ash glanced around at the others who were mostly talking amongst themselves. Lucy was looking at them curiously, mouth in a frown, but otherwise said nothing.

"Miranda..." Ash began, not really knowing what to say. "Never mind. I'll tell you about it later."

The remainder of the ride went by in silence. Anabel was troubled by Ash's reaction. What could have possibly happened to Miranda to make Ash act like that? Nothing good, certainly. She wondered if Miranda had gone home because Ash would no longer be traveling around. Anabel blinked. Though she had been around the girl a number of times, she couldn't remember a single mention of where she was from.

"Oh. My. God." The dumbstruck words that left Brandon's mouth made everyone but Scott look forward in surprise. As the van pulled to a stop more people became aware of what had garnered such a response from their normally unshakable leader.

"What's going on?" said Ash, unable to see anything from where he was sitting. Everyone was practically stumbling out of the vehicle as all their attention was locked on something in front of them.

"Dunno," said Lucy, following behind Greta. "I suppose it must-" but she cut off the moment her head emerged from the van. Ash and Anabel exchanged glances before following her.

It was impossible. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't keep the insanely huge grin off of his face. All eight of the Brains were standing in a line, completely speechless. Well, what did he expect? It wasn't like you got surprised with one of the most immense colosseums he had ever seen; and he had seen a lot. Even from this distance the building towered in the air, easily the size of the main stadium in Element City. But there was clearly more to it than that. The building extended a good distance off to the side holding who knew how many secrets.

"Scott," said Noland, looking at their smugly cheerful boss. "What the hell is this?"

"Best, job, ever..." breathed Ash.

"Welcome to the Battle Colosseum. It was pretty hard, you know," said Scott, turning to face them at last, "trying to keep this place under wraps. I mean all it really would take was someone to come along the shore _anywhere_ near here and they would see it."

"How did you keep people away?"

"Miles and miles of fence," said Scott with a shrug. "Good fence too, mind you, and no trespassing signs. It's all down now of course, but it was up for years. I've always been pleased with the way people are in this area. They don't go looking for trouble."

"Are you telling me that this... ridiculous building is my _facility_?" Ash forced out, the idea too insane to even consider. Everyone else was equally bemused. Scott shook his head.

"No we're not that crazy," he said.

"Crazy enough to give someone a freaking _flying_ _pyramid,_" muttered Greta. Scott hastily cleared his throat.

"Yes well, this building is actually a great number of things and will serve an equally great number of purposes," he said, waving them all back into the van. As they all climbed in he continued, "This is now the official headquarters for the Battle Frontier, as well as the location for Ash's battle building."

"So is my building the Battle Colosseum or not?" asked Ash, feeling a little confused.

"Well it is," said Scott, "but there's just a lot more to it that that. Don't worry," he added, forestalling any other questions. "Just let me give you the tour and you'll understand everything."

Standing where they had earlier was nothing compared to being at the entrance. The building towered above them. Outside the large entrance was a medium sized plaza area that extended along the sides of the building. It was more than likely that there were multiple entrances to the facility. Ash made a mental note to get a very detailed map of the place from Scott as soon as possible. The group followed Scott into a large entrance hall. It was immediately reminiscent of a large mall. The area directly in front of them opened up greatly, with multiple floors and shops lining the walls. The large halls branched out in multiple directions with signs saying what each led to. The entire right side of the area was curved slightly, making Ash think of the stadium that must lie beyond the walls. Still that was only one side of the building. What else did this place have?

"Ash, come on or you'll be left behind," called Anabel. They had all walked well ahead of him while he stood there in shock. He quickly rejoined the group.

"So as you can see, this place is pretty much a combination of a large mall, stadium, and some offices for the Frontier group. There's a hotel for people to stay in while they visit for extended periods of time, not to mention for tournament participants. The building actually extends a bit over the water as well where there is a dock. With a little time, this place will be a new place you can take boats to and from, particularly from the closer regions. There are plenty of places to eat and even more to shop. We didn't hold anything back. This building is at the peak of modern architecture!" Scott took a deep breath. "So, what do you want to see first?"

"How about the stadium, since we seem to be pretty close," said Brandon, looking at the curved wall. Noland nodded his approval.

"Nah, let's do the stadium last, I want to check out the other side," said Lucy, eying the various shops in the other direction. The other girls chirped their agreement.

"I suggest we go to the main offices for the Battle Frontier, I think that would serve us all well," said Spencer sagely.

"Good idea Spencer," said Scott. "I actually have something for all of you there." Curiosity getting the better of all of them, they followed Scott up an escalator to the second floor and around the side of the open area. "I know this place is easy enough to get to but try not to forget it anyway," he added. The rest of them nodded absently as they looked into the area below where they had just been. It truly was a magnificent place. After a minute of walking they came to another entrance with the words "Frontier HQ" emblazoned on the doors. They entered into a pleasant and large lounge with a long counter at one end with computers on it. It was just as amazing as the rest of the place, though equally as empty. They still hadn't seen a single person in the entire building.

"So what is this place for?" asked Noland, looking around impressed.

"This is your home away from home, as well as my new main office," said Scott. "This main room is open to everyone. Trainers will be able to get all kinds of information on the Battle Frontier here as well as register for Frontier associated events that take place in the Colosseum. The Battle Frontier is evolving into something that I never expected would ever happen. It's changing into more of a Pokemon League kind of a thing, though it is wholly separate from it in its entirety. Come on to the back, this is just the beginning of this place." They followed Scott through a door which he got through by scanning a card key.

"Don't worry about the security around here," he continued as they walked down a long hallway, passing office rooms and other branching paths. "Before you all go you'll have everything you need to navigate this place. Anyway, down that hall is a small living area with seven separate rooms and some bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen. I had it built in case any of you were to come visit. This is where you'd be staying." Scott shrugged at the looks he was getting. "What, you're all my pride and joy. I take care of you when it's appropriate."

"That's sweet of you Scott," said Lucy with a smile. "But, there are eight of us now, not seven."

"I'd be more than happy to share with you," said Ash before Scott could say anything. The rest of the group just rolled their eyes. Scott quickly cleared his throat before this could continue.

"As I was saying," he interjected, "There are seven rooms, specifically because they are only for visiting, not for living in. You all will be at your own homes at your facilities most of the time, correct?"

"Of course, Scott, we wouldn't neglect our jobs," said Greta with a small frown. Even the hinted suggestion that they would goof around with their work was affronting, especially from Scott. Scott just smiled.

"I wasn't suggesting anything of the sort, Greta." he said with an apology. "Anyway, Ash will have his own place to live just like you all do. He's the only one of us that will be staying around here all the time."

"No complaints here," said Ash quickly. This place was awesome.

"Now my office is in the back," said Scott. "Follow me." He led them a little further after which the hall opened up into another, though distinctly smaller lounge area with a single door in the back. There was also an elevator on the side though where it went was anyone's guess.

"Woah!" Scott's office wasn't very large, but the entire back wall of it was pure glass from the floor to the ceiling. It overlooked the water and the land on the far shore. Below them was the beginning of an open area that could only be the large dock Scott had been talking about earlier.

"Here, everyone," said Scott, moving to his desk. There were a number of cell phones lined up in various colors. "These are for you all. Work phones so that you can all keep better in touch." Before Scott could stop them, everyone in the group picked one up and looked it over. "As you can see, they each have a symbol on the front. So figure out who each belongs to. Tucker, obviously we've had discussions, but as you've agreed to stay on for a little while longer until I can find your successor please hold onto that for the time being."

"Thanks Scott," he said with a small smile. Ash glanced at the usually energetic guy. He hadn't really talked at all lately. Maybe he was feeling bad about leaving?

"What symbol is this?" asked Lucy suddenly, holding out a white phone. Everyone looked over at the golden symbol emblazoned on the front of the phone. There was a tiny circle in the middle surrounded by short vertical lines, which looked like pillars.

"Ah there we go," said Ash, taking the phone from her and replacing it with the one he had picked up. He fished the small golden symbol out of his pocket which was a perfect match to the one on the phone. "It's the Drive Symbol."

"Rightly so," said Scott. "Now if you're all straightened out I'll just say that these phones already have every number you could ever need relating to the Frontier. You won't have to add each other as contacts. Feel free to put your own in there though." Ash was already half way through adding the number on the small piece of paper he had kept safe in his pocket. He'd work on getting the numbers of his friends later on. "Also, here's a copy of the card key and a small booklet of other security things you should know," he continued, handing each of them a small packet. "There's a map of the whole building in there as well."

"Perfect, thanks Scott," said Spencer.

"No problem," he nodded. "Now let's head over to your main place of work, Ash."

"You mean-"

"That's right, the Colosseum."

XxxxX

The Colosseum was just as magnificent as any of them could have imagined. Great pillars of stone lined the far off walls, making Ash think of his symbol. The large area would easily seat as many as the main stadium in Element City. The majority of the group stopped a little ways onto the arena but Ash continued to walk into the middle. He was trying to wrap his head around everything. His new home, his new job, his new responsibilities...

"So what exactly do we have planned for this place?" asked Noland, eyes moving from Ash's back to Scott at his side.

"Well, to begin with, trainers will come here for basically two main things regarding the Battle Frontier," he said. "One is if there are any Frontier related tournaments that are being held. I haven't done very much planning into them but I assume you'll just be required to have small number of symbols to enter. Three maybe? It'll all depend on the nature of the competition. The other reason of course is to come challenge Ash for the eighth symbol. Just in the way that one must have six symbols to gain the location of the seventh at the ever moving Battle Pyramid, it is only once they acquire the seventh that they are eligible to win their eighth." Scott crossed his arms. "Of course, Ash is more than allowed to accept challenges by whomever he wants but they wont be official BF matches."

"Does that mean that Ash is now the leader of the Frontier Brains?" asked Brandon, completely straight faced. The other six traded nervous glances. It _would_ make sense in a certain way, but what would Brandon do if Ash really did become their leader.

"No way," said Scott quickly making them all blink in surprise. "Ash is a very skilled trainer, that's to be sure. However to begin with he's never had this kind of a position before and he'll need time to get in the groove of it." Scott smiled wryly. "Plus, Brandon, you're a fine leader for the group. Why would I take that away from you?"

"I- thank you, Scott," said Brandon after a second. His normally stern face seemed to soften slightly.

"Ash, did you get all that?" called Scott to the new Brain. Ash walked over.

"Get all what?" he asked.

"Brandon's still the leader," said Greta shortly. Ash looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"Well duh," he said, looking at the rest of them. "What did you think I expected to be the new boss? I just joined the group. That makes me the bottom rung."

"So that means you have to listen to your seniors," said Anabel, a small smile forming on her face. Ash took an involuntary step back.

"Hey don't grin at me like that, it's scary," he said. "Scott, when does this place open up?" he asked quickly, forestalling anything else Anabel would say.

"This Saturday is the grand opening, though people who will be working here are going to come in from tomorrow," he said, leading them out of the stadium. "There's going to be people from all over the eastern hemisphere attending. It's going to be absolutely insane. It's tradition to open the use of a stadium with some type of battle but I haven't decided what to do yet. I'll let you all know by tomorrow though."

"Whatever you say," said Lucy with a shrug. Scott was such an on-a-whim kind of guy.

"We can all split up now if you want to look around at random stuff," said Scott as they reached the center room of the mall by the entrance. I still need to show Ash where he will be living."

"I want to see his place," said Anabel at once. Ash looked at her suspiciously. "Hey you've seen my place. It's only fair." At this Ash just laughed.

"Yeah I guess so," he said with a shrug. "You're all welcome to check it out if you want."

"I'll pass for now," said Tucker with nod. "I really want to check out the dock area actually."

"I'll come with you," said Spencer, moving next to him. "Why don't we all agree to meet back here in an hour."

"Sounds fine to me," said Noland. "I'm going to check out more of the ground around the stadium. Coming Brandon?"

"Yeah, let's go," he said. The four men walked off.

"Men..." said Greta, shaking her head.

"Right, well then shall we go?" said Scott moving off to the lobby in the direction of the front doors. They thought they were going outside but instead Scott led them to an elevator to the side of the lobby.

"Wait, Scott," said Ash. "Do I live in this building? Is it an apartment flat or something?"

"No and no again," said Scott, hiding a smile as he called the elevator. There were four floors above ground as well as two lower levels. Above all the other buttons was one labeled R. "We're going to the roof," he said, pressing it.

"I live on the roof?" repeated Ash, surprised. "Isn't that, uhh, dangerous?"

"Not in the slightest," said Scott. "Though I should let you know that at this time anyone will have access to the roof through this elevator. There are stairs as well in case of an emergency but that's just for fire safety. If you want to increase the security to your living area then just let me know and we will get it done."  
"I'm sure it will be fine, Scott," said Ash as the doors opened. "Oh my god."

"That's freakin awesome," said Anabel, running forward. The others voiced their agreement and followed them out of the small building housing the elevator and the stairs into the open air of the roof.

As Ash looked out across the area there were a number of things that jumped out at him. The roof was surrounded by a low wall that was capped with a fence for safety. Of course, the amount of space on the roof was simply ridiculous. A huge expanse of a rooftop plaza stretched out before them. And, as if a storm had picked it up from some unsuspecting town, a house sat in the middle of it all. A stone walkway connected the front steps to the elevator building. As the high stadium walls were directly north of the house it wouldn't ever cast the roof in complete shadow. The view was simply unbelievable.

"Scott, what in god's name is _wrong_ with you," said Ash weakly. Scott just laughed his loudest yet.

"Just don't do anything to get yourself fired and I won't kick you out of here," he said jovially. Ash just sweatdropped.

"Right..."

"Come on you guys, check this place out it's awesome!" shouted Anabel, now on the porch. The only reason she wasn't in the house already was because the door was locked. As they joined her she glared at Scott. "This really isn't fair you know."

"Don't be like that," said Scott, completely unaffected by her glare. "You love the Tower and the little cottage we built for you. You even had design imput." He rummaged around in a pocket for the keys.

"Yeah but I didn't get the whole world below my feet," she countered.

"You realize that you're by far the closest of us all to this place," said Lucy reasonably. "Or did you not notice," she added, pulling Anabel to the corner of the porch so she could look around the side of the house. Lucy pointed to a small black thing in the far distance on the opposite shore. Though it was very far away it still kind of looked like a building. "That's the Battle Tower."

"You two still there?" said Greta, her head poking out from the front door. "Come on in, this place is really nice." While the girls buzzed around the place, making comments here and there, Ash and Scott sat in the living room, which had a grand view of the water.

"Scott, I really don't know what to say," managed Ash after a while. "I really do think I have the best job in the world. Best boss too, I suppose," he added with a grin. Scott shook his head.

"Ash, when I first met you I had this gut feeling that you were something more than just a random trainer," said Scott, his sunglasses glinting in the late afternoon light. "That's why I invited you to come try the Battle Frontier, and I was not disappointed. Even then I jumped the gun and asked you to join the group. I knew you'd be a great addition to the team, for all that you were only just a cheeky teenager. To be honest I was glad you said no."

"Really?" asked Ash. Scott was always so into the future and exciting things that it was rare to see him reminisce about anything.

"It wouldn't have been right to pull you away from your adventures and tie you down," he explained. "You were young, and quite frankly the Battle Frontier wasn't ready yet. It needed the time to grow, as it has. Now it's become so large that I went and build all this for it. This," he continued, motioning around to the house and beyond, "is just one way of me saying thank you for everything you've done to help me over the years. You realize that by taking this job you're _still_ helping me out right?"

"Well you're helping me a fair bit, so why don't we just leave it at that," said Ash. "Plus, if we continue this any further, the girls will probably all start crying and then it'll be a mess of sloppy emotio- OW!" he shouted as a shoe connected with the side of his head. "Come on, what gives!" Five more shoes quickly followed, though this time he caught expertly them all, grinning. Anabel, Lucy, and Greta all stood with their hands on their hips looking vindictive. "Nice of you to remove your shoes in another person's home." Anabel was the first to break. Her frown cracked into a smirk and then she started laughing. The others followed suit shortly after, joining the two guys by sitting on the couch. Scott checked his watch.

"Well we should head back down," he said after a little while, getting to his feet. "I'll be taking everyone back to Pallet Town where we'll split up. Here, Ash. Keys to the kingdom," he added, tossing something to him. Ash caught the keys easily. "Ready to head back?"

"Actually I'm going to stay behind," said Ash. "I'll make my way back later, no problem." Scott shrugged and made his way to the door, holding it open for the others. As Anabel passed Ash he grabbed her arm on impulse. She looked at him quickly, seeing the unasked question in his eyes.

"Scott, I'm going to hang back as well," she said as the other two girls walked outside. "Ash will take me home a little later."

"Suit yourself," said Scott with a nod. "I'll be in touch with you by phone." The door snapped shut behind him. Silence stretched on in his wake, Anabel watching Ash closely, while Ash looked off to the side, feeling uncomfortable.

"You and I both know what happened last time we were alone together," said Anabel shortly, eyes narrowed. "Tell me why I just put myself in this situation again."

"I'm sorry," said Ash, his eyes meeting hers at last. There was sadness there, among other things. "I was being selfish. I just need someone to talk to."

"Does this have anything to do with Miranda?" Ash looked at the floor and let out a breath. Unsure of what to say, Anabel ran a finger absently over her right hip, the place where her mysterious marking had appeared. She couldn't help but wonder where Ash's was.

"Yeah," he said after a second. "I've had a lot on my mind lately." Ash gave a small start as hands pressed his back, forcing him back into the living room. Anabel sat him in one corner of the couch and took the other corner.

"Just start at the beginning," she said, folding her arms under her breasts.

"Miranda is gone," said Ash shortly. Anabel's hands dropped to her lap limply. Gone?

"No way," she said slowly, "she- she died?"

"Not exactly," said Ash, shaking his head. "During the incident, someone kidnapped her. However it wasn't a normal kidnapping. I know this is hard to believe, but she was taken to a different time. As in time traveling kidnapping. Odds are she's never going to return to this time. So in a way, yeah, she's dead." He was right. Anabel _was_ having a difficult time believing him. But why would he lie about something like this?

"I'm so sorry, Ash," she said after a moment. Ash glanced at her, eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

"Really?"

"Do you really think so lowly of me?" snapped Anabel. She bit her tongue before anything else came out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry, no I don't think that about you," said Ash shaking his head at his stupid words. "I spent every day for at least four years with her. Circumstances made us close... very close. But we never took things anywhere, partly because of my ignorance and partly from how she grew up." Ash broke off, looking stricken. "Miranda had always been held back by her past and her culture, but that didn't make what she felt any less real to her. And then I failed her. I should have been there! Protected her!"

"Ash there's no way you failed her," said Anabel shaking her head. She might not know much about the situation but reading people was her specialty and Ash was clearly being overly hard on himself. "Plus, being swept away to a different time doesn't mean she's dead. Don't just give up on her like that."

"I haven't given up on her," he said quickly. "I just never got to resolve something that concerned, well, us. But a lot has happened since then and I couldn't hold back any longer. I just feel guilty, you know?" Anabel's eyes narrowed at him in suspicion.

"Can I ask you something straight out?"

"Alright."

"Did you fall for another girl?"

"Yes."

"You're despicable."

"Great thanks, that's just what I needed."

"Well you are."

"Like I said, I was trying to straighten everything out but I was still really confused. I still am for god's sake. Suddenly she vanished and I'll never get to tell her what she meant to me." Ash's expression grew even darker, if that was possible.

"So, how close are you with this new girl."

"Close."

"How far have things gotten?"

"Far."

"When did this happen?"

"A few days ago."

"...are you happy?" Ash glanced over at his interrogator. She was hugging a pillow and frowning, disgruntled. He had been afraid of her getting into a bad mood from the discussion, but he really had no one else to go to at this point. No one like her at any rate. "Are you happy with her?" she repeated.

"Yeah."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah."

"Stop being a baby!" Ash blinked, leaning back. Anabel's face was inches from his own. "You're human, Ash. So am I. So is Miranda. People run blindly through life making mistakes and not understanding things but that doesn't stop us from running as fast as we can. Sometimes things happen that you don't have control over. Accept it and move on. Just like I had to when you rejected me. I haven't been a wreck so you sure as hell can't be one either. Alright?"

"Yes Ma'am," said Ash, smiling in spite of himself. "Shit happens. Deal with it."

"Good," said Anabel, now taking a position by the window. "I'm even being nice to whatever girl you're into and not making any moves on you. You should be thankful."

"I'm not dating her or anything," he said quickly, heating up a bit. "Things just sort of came out into the open between us. And plus, what kind of a comment is that anyway?" said Ash exasperatedly.

"I'm just being honest with myself." Anabel sighed. "You really do have a nice place by the way. Way nicer than my little cottage."

"You think so? I always thought your place was cozy."

"How am I supposed to get home anyway?" she shot, crossing her arms and looking out the window. "I let my only ride leave without me for this conversation you know."

"What ever happened to that nice girl I met who laughed when we both got covered with mud?" asked Ash, chucking at how cranky she was getting.

"Same thing that happened to you, bean sprout," she said, grinning back at him. "I got older. Though if I ever find you covered in mud again I promise I'll laugh." Ash rolled his eyes, walking over to the smaller girl. In one swift movement he swept her up bridal style. "What- what the hell are you doing, put me down!" shouted Anabel pushing on his chest. Admittedly she wasn't pushing very hard.

"Just close your eyes for a sec," said Ash. She hesitated before complying. What was he going to do to her? He wasn't... She felt her face heating up when she suddenly felt a tug somewhere throughout her whole body and felt the strangest sensation of shifting. Then it stopped. Wind tugged at her clothes and hair. "You can open your eyes now," said Ash, his voice amused. Anabel opened her eyes to find herself staring directly at her home. The Battle Tower stretched to the sky behind it.

"Oh, I'm home?" she said bemusedly. Chuckling, Ash placed Anabel on her feet before tapping her on the shoulder.

"Thanks Anabel, for the pep talk," he said thankfully. "I'll see you in a few days. Come on Gardevoir, lets get back to the house." Anabel turned quickly to catch the slim green and white Pokemon appear at Ashes side, wrapping an arm around her trainer's waist before they both vanished. Anabel just let out a breath.

"You could have at least waited for me to say you're welcome. Always so quick to make an exit...whatever. Espeon, I'm back!"

XxxxX

Ash was letting Gardevoir rest a bit before heading back to Pallet. After exploring every inch of his new home, which he was completely excited about having, he ended up pulling out his cell and adding numbers he knew to it. Of course Mom and Brock. He knew Dawn's home number as well. Thinking on it he had never thought to get the other girls' numbers. He'd also need to get some kind of number to reach Ember by. Riley would likely be a good contact too...hmmm...

"_I'm ready to go when you are,"_ said Gardevoir, walking into the room. He really liked the living room the most out of all the rooms in the house. Not that the place was lacking any. Living room, dining room, kitchen, an office, a bathroom, and a foyer marked the first floor. The second floor had a bathroom and, for some reason, two extra bedrooms in addition to his own. What on earth was he to do with so much space. Something stirred in the back of his mind. An old idea that he had toyed with while traveling this past year, as soon as he had gotten the offer to be a Brain from Scott. What was he to do with the space indeed...

"Hey Gardevoir," said Ash slowly. "Since I'm staying put for a while, wouldn't it make sense to have all of my Pokemon around to take care of them? I mean I'm not traveling like I was before."

"_I know I would like to be around them as well. From what I understand, your other Pokemon are at Professor Oak's Lab, am I correct?"_ asked Gardevoir. Ash nodded. _"Would you be able to care of them all?"_

"To be honest, I don't think I have the time, nor the experience to properly do it. I'd want them all looked after well but I'm only one person after all. Not to mention I have to train. Oh man that sounds rougher than I first thought."

"_Did you want my assistance?"_ she asked. This time Ash shook his head.

"Nah it'd be more fun to have you hanging around with me," he said. Gardevoir hid a smile behind a green hand. Though she wouldn't say it, she wanted nothing more than to look after him for the rest of her life. She moved over to him, placing a hand on his chest where her newer, even closer bond with her trainer lay.

"_Then what do you plan on on doing?"_ Ash tossed his cell in the air before catching it, grinning.

"Call an expert."

XxxxX

Brock checked his watch and sighed. It was getting late and he still had to get back to Pewter City. He promised his family that he would cook them dinner whenever he was in the area. It was a small price to pay for having been able to travel around as he did, especially once he no longer had Ash to hang around with. He hadn't realized how much he relied on his younger friend at the time, but as soon as he and Cynthia had left on that day he felt no small amount of loss. Still in a way he had finally been freed to pursue his dreams to becoming a world class Pokemon breeder; even stepping some into the field of Pokemon medicine. A breeder was really just a stone's throw away from being a doctor anyway when it came to Pokemon treatment.

"Alright now, you try not to make any more strange detours through the low branches," he said to his patient, a recently injured Pidgeotto. She cooed at him softly, thankful for the treatment. "Don't worry. I'm sure the flock is still around here somewhere, they usually travel between Pallet Town and Pewter City..." he said, standing up and looking around at they sky. It was late afternoon, but the sun was still high in the western sky. He suddenly began hearing a low hum, steadily growing as it came closer. Rustling to his right brought his attention to a number of Pokemon bursting out of the brush and running south.

"Uh oh," muttered Brock, picking up the still recovering Pokemon. "Hang on Pidgeotto, this is going to get hairy!" He dashed south following the running Pokemon as a large group of Beedrill burst from the trees behind him. Clearly something had agitated them enough to chase anyone and anything out of their territory. They were gaining quickly. Brock glanced back to find one a few feet back from his head, its eyes red with anger. The buzzing was overwhelming. He ducked a stab from on of the large needles and jumped down a slope, doing his best to keep his balance as the ground between them opened up considerably. A few more dodged trees and he emerged into open space. He was finally out of the Viridian Forest and could see Viridian City in the far distance. The Beedrill however continued to give chase.

"Man, someone must have _really_ messed with them, for them to be this upset," he muttered, legs pumping steadily as he ran down the sloping road. They were so close! Suddenly a cry followed by a great blast of wind. The buzzing was reduced immensely. Brock turned to see a large bird Pokemon blast through the swarm of Beedrill, parting them like a speed boat in water. It gave a fierce cry again before bulleting directly at him. Flying next to him was none other than a Pidgeot.

"Geot!"

Brock only hesitated for a second before jumping on the Pokemon's back and hanging on as they sped away, leaving the angry Pokemon behind them. Brock watched the cloud of Beedrill reduce to nothing before focusing on their savior.

"Thank's Pidgeot, you really saved us," he said, running a hand along her plumage.

"Pidgeot!" said the large bird Pokemon, looking back at him over her shoulder. Brock blinked. There was almost something familiar about... wait a second!

"Hang on, you're Ash's Pidgeot aren't you!" Pidgeot nodded vigorously, eyes smiling. "Well it's great to see you Pidgeot. I found one of your flock injured towards the edge of the forest but she should be alright." Pidgeot eyed the smaller Pokemon in his arms before jerking her head to the side. The message was pretty clear: toss her. Brock carefully extricated himself from the Pidgeotto before dropping her over Pidgeot's back. Instantly the Pokemon was flapping her wings and flying at their side. "Ah that's good, I was worried you'd have trouble flying," Brock said, happy that there wasn't any lasting damage.

_Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz_

"Pidgeot?"

"Ah, um that's my phone," said Brock surprised. "I guess the ads about it working anywhere really are true." Flipping the phone open, he saw a number he didn't recognize. "Hello?"

"Brock? It's Ash."

"Ash! What a coincidence, I didn't recognize the number," said Brock, happy to hear from his friend. They hadn't talked in nearly two months.

"Yeah this is my new phone that Scott gave me for work. How are you doing?"

"Not bad, actually. I was doing some work in the Viridian Forest when I ran into a bit of trouble."

"Not Beedrill, again?" came Ash's exasperated voice. "Man it's really been a problem lately from what I've heard. Maybe I'll get some people to look into it. How did you get away?"

"Funny you should ask..." said Brock with a grin. He held the phone over by Pidgeot's head and said, "Want to say hi to your old buddy?"

"Pidgeooot!" On the other side of the cell, Ash nearly dropped the cell. Was that really who he thought it was?"

"Pidgeot, is that really you?!" he almost shouted, excitement filling his chest. Pidgeot's voice filled the phone practically non stop. He hadn't seen her in so many years... Guilt crashed into his heart heavily. Years. He had promised her that he would come back for her, but he had completely forgotten. Yet another mark of his fallacies as a Pokemon trainer.

"Ash, you still there?" came Brock's voice. Ash could make out the sound of wind in the background. They must still be flying, wherever they were.

"Yeah, say Brock, where are you?"

"By Viridian City."

"Interested in taking a small detour? I'd like to talk to you about something. It's pretty important."

"Sure Ash, are you in Pallet?"

"No I'm at my new home," he said, walking out of his home and into the vast rooftop plaza. "Fly to the coast and follow it south. You can't miss it. Trust me."

"Alright, I just need to be back in Pewter this evening to make dinner for the family," Brock said, looking to the water in the distance. From the air things seemed so close.

"No problem it won't take long," said Ash. "If you want to get here quickly just tell Pidgeot to go faster. Just make sure you don't fall." The phone beeped twice as the call ended. Brock put the cell away.

"Pidgeot, you up to seeing Ash? I know he'd like to see you," he added. Pidgeot just chirped happily. "Alright then. Head to the water then follow the coast south. Let's see some speed!"

XxxxX

Ash didn't have to wait long before he felt two auras approaching rapidly from the north. Pidgeot was _fast_. He waived to them as they got closer and landed a few feet in front of him. Brock slid off Pidgeot's back shakily.

"Damn, she's fast," he said, hands on his knees. "What is this place anyway? It's incredible."

"Brock I'll explain in a sec, but first..." Ash looked into Pidgeot's eyes. Since she landed she hadn't made a single sound. "Pidgeot I-"

"So my fledgling master is a chick no longer," said Pidgeot, looking Ash up and down. "You look well."

"Ah... thank you," he said, feeling awkward. This was not the reaction he was expecting. "You look well too." Pidgeot's head tilted slightly to the side and she regarded him sharply.

"Wait, you can understand me?" she said quickly hopping a bit closer.

"Yeah, I understand Pokemon because I have training as an Aura Guardian. It let's me connect with them on a different level I suppose."

"Fascinating..."

"Um, shouldn't you be really mad at me?" asked Ash, unable to avoid it any longer. Brock just shook his head and wandered off, exploring the roof. It wasn't as if he could understand Pidgeot anyway.

"Because you didn't come back?" said Pidgeot bluntly. Ash lowered his head. "Come closer." Ash moved directly in front of the Pokemon, kneeling in front of her. Pidgeot swiftly cuffed him over the side of the head with a wing, causing him to fall back on his butt.

"Ouch," said Ash, rubbing his head.

"There comes a time when all fledglings must go out and live on their own, away from the protection of the flock," she said softly, rubbing her head against his. "It is something I learned when I became a mother myself. I was hurt at first when you had been gone for a while, but then I realized that you were off growing like all humans do. I'm pleased to see that you've grown so well." Ash smiled, his eyes looking distant. He rubbed the side of her head affectionately.

"When did you get so wise? You're a mother?" he asked, looking at his old Pokemon with new respect.

"All of my young are off on their own as well," she explained. "I look after the flock, but I no longer lead it."

"Then would you like to stay with me?" asked Ash at once. He could remember the fierce battles they had enjoyed together when he first started his journey. "Battle with me again? This time it's forever though. I'm not leaving you anywhere."

"More than anything!" she chirped. Ash fished a pokeball out of his pocket and tapped it on Pidgeot's head lightly, causing her to vanish in a stream of red light. The click of the successful capture sounded immediately.

"Well," said Brock, walking back over to Ash who got to his feet, "I'm glad that worked out well."

"Yeah, thanks a ton for bringing her to me Brock," said Ash, looking at the pokeball in his hand. It suddenly glowed before vanishing into thin air. "Ah that's right, I still have all six with me," he said, surprised. "Well I guess it's no big deal. I'm going to be seeing them all tomorrow."

"So now that I'm here, what did you want to talk to me about? Nice house by the way, and well you know," he added sarcastically, motioning to the building beneath their feet.

"Among other things, my Battle Frontier facility is here," Ash said with a shrug. "Grand opening is this Saturday. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Ash paused, unsure about how to say what he wanted. Gardevoir came over and poked him in the arm.

"_Just ask him."_

"Right. How would you like to work as a caretaker for all of my Pokemon?" Brock's eyes opened fully. Whatever he had been expecting Ash to say, this was certainly _not_ on the list.

"You want me to _what?_" he said blankly.

"I know, I know, it's a lot to ask," said Ash, pacing a bit. "But honestly I've given this a lot of thought. I knew once I took this job that I'd finally be able to have all my Pokemon be with me wherever I ended up, instead of at Oak's Lab. Problem is I wouldn't be able to do a really great job of taking care of all of them _and_ do my work and anything else that came up. So I figured I'd need a good breeder or general caretaker to look after them all." Ash stopped pacing and looked at Brock, eyes completely serious. "You're the best Pokemon Breeder I know, Brock. No one even comes close in my opinion. I've seen you take care of large groups of Pokemon for years. You've even started getting into Pokemon medicine. I know you've been traveling around a lot but it's not like that goes on forever."

Brock crossed his arms, frowning. Ash did have a good number of Pokemon at Oak's Lab, that was for sure. He could see where Ash was coming from. "So what are you offering?" asked Brock, equally serious. Ash blinked. He didn't think Brock would even entertain the idea.

"If you say yes then one of the spare bedrooms upstairs is yours, no rent. I'll cover all the costs of Pokemon food and whatever else you need to take care of them all. You can help me design a place to keep them to be built nearby. This building has everything we could possibly need in terms of shops, plus there's a Pokemon Center where you can work on your medicine. Trust me I'll be giving you lots of patients," Ash added, laughing slightly. Brock just blinked.

"So basically do practically the exact same thing we did when we were traveling together except just focus more on the Pokemon?" he asked.

"Uh yeah I suppose so," said Ash. Brock still didn't look completely sold on the idea, though he was certainly interested. Brock did love to travel after all. Looks like he'd have to play his trump. "Of course, I don't want you to feel obligated as my friend or something. If you're not interested then I'll just hire a breeder, no problem. Though I know Ninetales would be sad someone else would be brushing her." Ash turned away only to have a hand suddenly grip his shoulder. He grinned. The man was a sucker for Ninetales and when it came to that particular Pokemon he had the crème de la crème. He didn't even need to mention women.

"Ash Ketchum, you've got a deal."

XxxxX

"Cynthia how long are you going to glare at me like that?"

"Until you give me a straight answer."

"But I _did_ give you a straight answer."

"Telling me it was for my safety is not a straight answer, it's a **bad** answer."

"Still doesn't make it any less straight..."

Leon sat on the back porch of his daughter's home, looking at the fierce woman before him. What ever happened to his little girl? She was so cute when she still had her head always buried in books. Their tearful reunion was a swift and fleeting affair, two months past. At the time he had been happy enough that she was safe and she him. Of course, life was now catching up.

"Look here, Cynthia," he said, frustrated. "I really did think that something bad would happen if Cain knew I was alive. I knew he was keeping an eye on you and you were living well. I didn't want to possibly put you in danger. Plus how would you have felt if you found out your dad was still alive only to lose him again?" Cynthia sighed.

"Alright, alright. I'm not a kid you know," she said, crossing her arms. "I know you wouldn't have done that unless you really thought that was the right thing to do." She leaned on the railing. "But it's over now."

"Do you really think that?" asked Leon, shaking his head. "Nier got away; so did Korinek. And I don't know about you but I won't rest until Nier has completely left this world."

"Well we agree on one thing at least," said Cynthia. "Still I won't let it take over my life, and you shouldn't let it either."

"You're a lot more grown up than I am."

"That's because I'm a woman." The phone rang inside softly. Cynthia instantly jumped up and into the house leaving her father blinking on the porch. He looked in the back door to see her pick up the kitchen phone excitedly.

"Hello?" Cynthia's face suddenly fell a bit. "Oh hi Scott... what? No I wasn't expecting someone else, what makes you say that." The corner of Leon's mouth tugged upwards. "Mhmm. Yeah, I've been looking forward to seeing it, I can't wait to come! Wait what? But why me? Don't you think it would be better to have your Brains do it? I... okay Scott, I'll do it. You owe me one alright? People don't just book the Sinnoh Champion like she's a band you know? Oh stop Scott I'm only teasing you. Yes I'll be there on Friday. Hang on a second, let me grab a piece of paper and a pen... alright, go ahead. Got it, I'll give you a call later. See you on Friday, take care."

"So what's going on?" asked Leon, pouring himself a glass of water from the sink.

"That was Scott, head of the Battle Frontier," she explained, sitting at the table. "The new Battle Frontier facility is having a grand opening on this Saturday. It's a colosseum apparently." She spun the pen between her fingers and tapped it on the table. "And now Ash and I are the main event. I guess we'll get to finish what we started after all."


End file.
